RARE File Logs: Livia Trasic Mission JPN-T5
by hostclubmanager17
Summary: Livia Trasic is a good agent. She does her job, she does it well, and she follows the rules of R.A.R.E. Figures she'd be assigned to a member of the Ouran Highschool Host Club who's really testing the biggest rule of them all... Do not ever fall in love with your mission. Welcome to her life. Rated T for swearing and violent themes, may be changed.
1. Prologue

**Yeah... I'm thinking I'm gonna regret this. What is it with me putting so much on my plate?**

 **So, if you've read my preview of this story, you've already read this chapter in particular. This is just kinda... making it official in my books. Now I will start updating this story (hopefully on a semi-regular basis) and um... hope that people will read it, I guess.**

 **Also, I think I have a thing for brunette OCs... but at least her name doesn't start with a 'J' this time.**

 **Disclaimer: I own this chapter, basically. After this chapter, not a bit. But for now, hell yeah, all mine.**

* * *

 _ **R.A.R.E. Central Base**_

 _ **Exact Location: Classified**_

 _ **Training room 4**_

 _ **0813 hours**_

* * *

" _Livia Trasic to Director Mathias's office immediately._ "

A tall brunette who was currently beating up a punching bag landed one last solid hit on the leather. Breathing heavily, she wiped her brow with the back of a heavily taped hand. She cast a glance at the overhead intercom, confusion clouding her thoughts for a brief moment. _The director's office? But that's... oh, shit._

Her workout partner watched as a thunderous expression slowly rolled in over the teenager's face. He cowered slightly behind the bag, "Uh…"

"What. The. Fuck."

"Livie…"

"What the fuck, man! I literally just fucking got back from my last assignment! _Give me a fucking break!_ "

As if her boss had heard her shouts (she wouldn't put it past him to have microphones in the training rooms) the intercom went off again.

" _Quit your bitching and get your ass over here at once._ "

She raised a middle finger salute to the speaker before stomping across the mats towards the benches lining the left wall. Ripping the white tape off her hands and slipping into her black flats simultaneously, the girl muttered a few choice words through her teeth. _Is this what it feels like to work full time? Because if it is, I'm catching the next plane out to Nauau._ She ripped a lime green towel from her workout bag before returning her attention to her partner.

"Sorry Nathan, I know I promised."

"No worries. I squeezed out a promise from your brother today too. He's supposed to meet me in a few hours to spar. I don't think _we'll_ be interrupted, he's not as important."

Scoffing at the quality treatment her little brother's best friend gave him, Livia smirked, "Good. Get him off his ass and knock him back down on it. Just try not to permanently damage him, 'k?"

"I'll try, but you never know." The short blond boy flexed his arms, "I can't always control these muscles, ya know?" The brunette rolled her eyes and took a sip from her water bottle. Still, she couldn't deny the boy was pretty well toned. Where his height needed a little work done, the youngest Aleshire boy was quite muscular for his age, which was only 15. Then again, that was to be expected here.

"Sure, Nate."

"Don't call me Nate!"

Livia ruffled the small boy's short hair as she headed out, bag thrown over her tanned shoulder, "If you see _your_ brother while you hunt down mine, let him know I won't be joining him in the shooting range after lunch. I probably have some studying to do." Nathan made a confirming noise as she walked out of the room, patting the rest of her sweaty face dry along the way. While she walked down the hallway, letting her heartbeat settle down from the work out and the anger that had followed the announcement, Livia couldn't help but wonder what her next assignment was.

 _A single heir?_

 _Rival companies?_

 _Witness protection?_

Sighing, the brunette closed her eyes and swiped the towel across her eyelids, walking around other members of her organization without even needing to see them. Young adults, teenagers, and the occasional child brushed past the girl, some giving her a small smile, some exchanging a friendly greeting, and a few too focused on whatever was at hand to do more than nod in her general direction.

Livia returned the gestures, a little warm feeling in her heart.

Weren't they all just a lovely band of assassins?

* * *

 **Prologue; check. Now, on to chapter 1!**

 **If you already like it, please follow, favorite, and review your thoughts.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	2. Log 1

**Alright… here we go. New story and a million and one things to do in my life. I hope you like this one. There will be a few trigger warnings here and there, and I will do my best to preemptively warn you.**

 **Warnings: Mentions of abusive situations, familial deaths, and homophobia.**

 **Disclaimer: Here's where I start to not own stuff. I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.**

* * *

 _ **R.A.R.E. Central Base**_

 _ **Exact Location: Classified**_

 _ **Hallway 17**_

 _ **0825 hours**_

* * *

R.A.R.E.

Romulus And Remus Enforcement.

Yeah, I know it's kind of a weird title, but it makes sense. It's a play on words from Roman Mythology. Romulus and Remus _were_ both orphans taken in and trained to fight and behave like a wolf pack. And, yeah, we do a bit of enforcement. Actually, a lot of enforcement.

Sorry, got a little distracted there.

Livia G. Trasic, reporting in on Mission JPN-5T. Log 1.

Opening statement: Fuck you all.

No, for real. Go. Get. Fucked.

I just got back home on what I _thought_ was my _guaranteed month-long break_ you-

Ginevra is shaking her head at me from across the hall. Fine, I'll save my rant for my roommate. But that doesn't mean I'll keep all my swears out of my logs. Unless I've been mistaken since my very first lessons here at 'Rawr', these logs are meant to capture every detail of our missions, including my 'potty-mouth'. Besides, this thing records all of the sounds it can pick up anyways, so my colorful dialogue won't be tarnished even if you told me to tone it down.

And if any of you listening have a problem with that? Please rewind the tape to 00:29. You're all adults. Grow up.

Now, I'm about to waste as much of your time as possible in the remainder of this first recording. If I get enough of you to complain, maybe when I get back from _this_ trip you'll give me _two_ months off! Sounds fair, right?

How to waste your time first, hm? I've got another ten or so minutes before getting back to my room, so where to start?

Well, I'm a girl. A very pretty girl, I've been told. I've got dark brown, almost black hair that I usually have tied back in a french braid. It ends somewhere beneath my shoulder blades. I've considered getting it dyed a dark red color a few times, but I'm never given the 'okay'.

'You're supposed to blend in,' they say.

'Your brown hair is perfect for that,' they say.

'Fuck off,' I generally reply.

Whatever.

The rest of me is pretty normal for this place. I'm not as thin as some of the other teens here because I like to eat unhealthy things and have a lot of muscles. Mostly in my arms and legs, but I guess I've got the makings of a six-pack if I really tried. Which I don't care about now. To me, my intelligence is what I'm most proud of, rather than my physical appearance.

I'm 17 years old at the moment. Five more months to go before becoming an official 'adult' in my home country. January 2nd and this party can get started! I'll have to start writing out a list of places I can legally drink…

Anyways, about my family.

I've got one brother.

And that concludes my detailed family tree.

But I suppose those of you compiling my logs aren't too surprised by that. Most of the people here are orphans, just like me, but we also have a fair few who were kicked out of their homes or escaped abusive situations. Sure, we've recruited a few children from military families and what not, but other than that? No real parents to speak of. It's an unspoken rule here that you can't ask new recruits about how they ended up at R.A.R.E. Most likely it's a sad and sucky story that will leave very few people without tears running down their cheeks.

Like me and Connor for example.

We were visiting our Grandmother for a week when a tornado appeared out of nowhere. Our parents had been enroute to join us when it hit. With no uncles, no aunts, one folded American flag from World War 1, and two pairs of lungs that looked like chunks of volcanic ash, we ended up staying with said Grandmother.

And then she was stabbed in a store's parking lot for the 25 dollars and flip phone stashed in her peach colored purse.

That was nine years ago, and I still get a little choked up whenever I look at the photo album that's underneath my bed.

Connor and I were, I suppose, lucky enough to be placed in one of R.A.R.E.'s orphanages. It has hundreds all over the world, and it's almost like a gift from above to make it into one. Mostly R.A.R.E. uses them for easy recruitment purposes, but it's not the only reason. R.A.R.E. is dedicated to helping anyone who needs it, and a lot of our jobs are centered around children. So it makes sense that, even though we recruit a lot of orphans and homeless children, we don't _make_ them join. It's totally their choice, just like it was both mine and Connor's choice. And if they don't want to join? Then they stay in some pretty great children's homes that take good care of them. Most of the time when R.A.R.E. agents retire they do something with the orphanages. Whether they become a lifelong donor, or volunteer/work at one, or join our Foster Care services, or even adopt a child (or two), we always look out for our own. It's pretty cool.

I already mentioned how we take in kids who get kicked out of their homes, right? Well, that means we get a lot of LGBTQ+ folks around here. We get a lot of our orphans adopted by the gay couples that spring out of our agents. And then they live the rest of their happy lives in Canada, eh! The photo wall is so freaking cute.

 _Ahem._

Sorry, got a little more carried away there than I had planned.

Well, I'm back in my room, on my bunk, and I guess I should _actually_ talk about my latest mission. Okay, to begin, I was called out of training room 4 by R.A.R.E.'s current and longest standing director. After finishing my last mission out of Scotland two days ago, I was just starting my usual pre-lunch training session with Nathan Aleshire, getting back into the swing of things after getting home, when the intercom buzzed my name.

I was, in a word, pissed.

Still, orders are orders, and I started walking.

* * *

Livia scowled as she walked down Hallway 5. No one stopped her to chat.

See, with the way that R.A.R.E.'s building was set up, there were only a handful of destinations someone could be heading if they were walking towards Hallway 4. It could be Human Resources, the garage for mission vehicles, the Director's office, or one of the many mission consultation rooms. Anyone going to either of those places would not be in a chit-chatting mood.

The brunette personally looked like someone had just delivered a sexist comment, so anyone who passed by gave her a wide berth.

How did she know she was heading for yet another mission with little to no reprieve after her last one? Because that's the only reason someone would get called into the Director's office at all. That was pretty much it's only purpose, other than to lead to the Director's personal sleeping chambers.

The crowd thinned the further Livia walked. She was almost completely alone by the time she arrived right where Hallway 3 ended and split off to Hallways 2 and 1. A door was stationed right the the fork of the halls, a silver plaque nailed to the center of the wood.

'Director's Office'.

Livia threw it open.

"I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU TELL ME I HAVE ANOTHER ASSIGNMENT ALREADY-"

"Yoshio Ootori called."

She stopped.

"...You're not bullshitting me to make me shut up, right?"

Her director shook his head and she sat down in front of his desk. "Okay… I'll listen."

Mathias Jepsen wouldn't strike you as the Director of a worldwide organization of weaponized youth if you took a passing glance. He looked more like an aging high school math teacher who was really cool with his students, but still painfully boring. Strong, but not buff, and with a graying army-cut hairstyle but laugh-lines around his eyes, Director Mathias could go from soothing a young new recruit to downright threatening a client who tried to talk themselves out of payment in a heartbeat.

The man rubbed one of his calloused hands over his haircut, "I just got a call from Mr. Ootori saying he had another job and he wanted you again. We arranged a meeting tomorrow at 0600 in Con/3. You remember the drill from last time? He's not like our usual clients and you'll need to be on your best behavior."

* * *

Last time...

Four years ago, I had been given my first ever Japanese assignment in my career. All of our main Japanese agents were out on missions when Mr. Ootori had called. He said he needed a solo mission only, and having two would be too suspicious for the cover he had organized. Since I was the only solo-mission agent left who could both speak Japanese fluently to get by in the country, I had been selected.

His eldest son had just entered his last year of high school, making plans to go on to a high-end university and take over his family's business. Yoshio had been informed that a price had suddenly gone out for his eldest son's death. While they did employ a private police force, they weren't trained well enough for professional hired guns. So, he had taken matters into his own hands and hired me.

And apparently my slight fumbling in the language fit me perfectly into the cover story; tutoring with Yuuichi Ootori. And while those lessons were Hell on Earth, I had a much better appreciation for Japan and the Japanese language when I left.

Not to mention a new hole in my left calf.

* * *

The brunette sighs, "Thanks for the heads up, I guess. I'll be there at 0558 tomorrow."

"Just don't talk like a sailor during the consultation."

"Don't fucking tell me what to do."

Our brown eyes meet over the desk before he snorts and covers his eyes, "You're lucky you're one of our best agents, Trasic."

"So you say, Sir."

He smiles and waves me off, "Dismissed."

* * *

 **Okay, so this is pretty much a demonstration of how most of the chapters in this story are going to go. They'll switch between Livia making her logs about her ongoing mission and the recorder narrating the actions she's describing. Does this work? Yes? No?**

 **If you like where this story is heading, please favorite, follow, and leave a little review telling me what you think. I look forward to hearing from you all.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	3. Log 2

**Wow. Much better reception than the preview. I'm glad that people are already starting to like this story.** **Thank you so much to my reviewers, Lucifer Dragonlordh, Momochan77, Gungith, and the lovely queenglitch. I'm glad you like my newest character and the little R.A.R.E. stage I'm setting.**

 **As for queenglitch, comparing my writing to Rick Riordan was possibly the highest compliment I've ever received on this website. I'm a little humbled… and I want to thank you for being so supportive of all my writing.**

 **Disclaimer: There is, I believe, _one_ character in this chapter that I don't own, but the rest of it should be mine. Please be respectful of that fact.**

* * *

 _ **R.A.R.E. Central Base**_

 _ **Exact Location: Classified**_

 _ **Dorm Room 1822-A**_

 _ **0954 hours**_

* * *

Alright… let's pick this thing back up again…

Now that I've calmed down a little bit, I'd like to apologize for the way I spoke to you all in my last log. I'm well aware that whoever is cataloging these logs and my psychologist and _probably_ the members of the council should I be up for review aren't to blame for my newest mission or the jackass who requested me. Your jobs are very important to ensure I don't go off the deep end and I do my job.

That doesn't mean I'm going to cut out all the useless crap. Sorry. Write to Human Resources.

Anyways, for the past hour I've been buried neck deep in books and the World Wide Web, which you could probably tell from the sounds of pages turning and the click of the laptop. Wait, do you really have to listen to all of that? Please don't tell me you actually sat through me listening to Imogen Heap's 'Hide and Seek' on loop for half an hour. I'm so sorry if I've ruined that song for you! Please don't hate it, it's a really good song!

 _Ahem._

Anyways, as you probably already know -useless crap incoming- I'm going to probably pour over these resources for another three hours collectively before being sent off sometime tomorrow. I've only been out of Japan for about six months, and with all my years in studying the culture and language and my four previous missions there I should be all set with just a little brushing up.

Doesn't mean I have to like it.

Oh? Are you curious as to _why_ I chose Japan when I am clearly American? I'm so glad that you _didn't_ ask!

Your nationality doesn't mean jack shit around here. Where you go for missions is entirely up to your strengths. Only know English? There are plenty (repeat: _plenty_ ) of American, Canadian, and English missions for you to go on and so on and so forth. I know of plenty of agents who stick primarily to their own countries, if not to just blend in then for comforts sake, but many of us choose to go elsewhere.

Generally an agent studies for three-plus years on the language and culture of their main focus area and go from there. We research cuisines, beliefs, typical days, laws, living arrangements, and anything else that helps us to fit in. It helps that we have agents from all over the world who we can ask for extra information. Once you have your training and education down, then you typically don't go anywhere else _other_ than what you trained for.

Unless you're like me, where there's no one else to be sent, so your cover consists of learning about the country you're in _while on a mission._ Yeah… when I had started learning Japanese as a third language I thought it would just be cool to talk shit around my brother and drive him up the wall (and motivate him to learn a new language), but it just resulted in me being tutored by Akito Ootori and wanting to bash my head in whenever I did so.

Basically, I started out with a mild understanding of the language, then got thrown into a crash course of Japanese lifestyles.

And then I was shot at.

I'm a little sensitive about how I was shot, have you noticed?

How's the time wasting? Still good? Alright.

Actually, before I was sent to Japan four years ago, I was training to become a Ukrainian agent. There had been a really nice girl from Ukraine who sat by me and Conner when we first arrived, so I thought it would be cool to learn more about that place. Also we didn't have a lot of those agents, so they were in demand.

She retired a few years ago. I wonder how she's doing? Last I heard she was getting married somewhere in Belarus.

Oh! Almost forgot. Accents! You can't live in such a diverse and inclusive organization without picking up a few tricks. Like me, for example. I've got my Scottish, London, Boston, and French accents _down_ in both English and Japanese, plus a little German accent for English. It's pretty entertaining when new recruits come in and they try to guess someone's nationality. Jensen was mistaken for a Canadian once. He had looked so damn proud of himself! Well, considering he only goes to France and Canada nowadays, I'm surprised he doesn't just speak in fluent French all day long.

Speaking of French, someone's knocking. Ex _cuuuuuse_ me!

* * *

Livia dropped the log recorder onto the bedspread beside her. She took one last look at the page covered with Katakana characters before flipping the book shut, "It's open!"

From the girl's vantage point, facing the room from her bed, she could see four doors. The two on the wall to her right were the closet and bathroom doors, the one on the left lead back out into Hallway 18, and the one directly across from the wall at her back was connected to Dorm room 1822-B. That last one was the one that opened.

A head of platinum blonde hair poked through the opening, "Jensen? Êtes-vous ici?"

Livia shook her head, offering a small smile to the young French girl, "He's not here, Zara. He's probably still getting breakfast."

The girl groans, dropping her head against the doorframe, "He promised to observe my weapon packing this morning!"

"Going on a mission soon?"

"No. But I want his opinion. He knew! _Idiot!_ "

"How about I send him over once he gets back?"

"Kick him for me, too?"

"Can do."

* * *

Yay! Another time wasting moment! I probably won't have a lot of time for these once I'm actually on my mission, so I have to put them in now when I can. You understand, right?

So, my room. Think of a college residence hall. A _good_ one, by the way. Basically, two people per room. You get a large main room with two beds, two desks, two dressers, a single closet built into the wall, and a bathroom with a small shower, a sink, and a toilet. You can add more furniture the longer you live there, but that's pretty much it. Oh, and once you're a solo-agent like me? You don't move rooms. Unless it's, like, a serious situation or something.

For me and Jensen, we've stacked our beds up into a bunk-bed, then pushed it sideways against the right wall of our room. There's a small bookshelf, nightstand, a two-person futon, and even a mini-fridge/microwave combo set up against the bare walls, which have a couple pictures a nerd posters hanging around randomly. By the way, I'm allowed to call them nerd posters because most of them are mine. Anyways, I'm currently sitting on the bottom bunk, which is mine. Jensen claimed the 'taller person' card and quickly took the top bunk for himself. Whatever. If the two of us come back sore, less effort for me!

Hold the fuck up… have I talked about Jensen yet? Holy frickin fuck I haven't!

Okay, to start off, Jensen is my roommate.

...Obviously.

And he's pretty cool, as roommates/BFFs/weapon-training partners/practically siblings go. Basically, his family and mine came into R.A.R.E. around the same time, so we clicked pretty quickly. Yeah, there's six of us in our little group. And hey! Might as well explain them to you now!

Let's start off with the generic.

Connor William Trasic, my little brother. He's two years younger than I am, and thankfully has yet to show signs of my smartass mouth. We get along well, considering other siblings. According to everybody else, he apparently adores me and I'd jump over the moon for him, or whatever. Yeah, right.

…

Kidding.

I love my brother. He's pretty much all I have left of our old lives. Besides, he's not _completely_ annoying. Whenever I'm talking to someone, Connor comes up behind them and starts either mocking them, twirling around like a ballerina, or making stupid faces at me until I bust out laughing. That makes up for him forgetting to shut my bedroom door when he leaves.

Yeah, he's a good kid.

Except we look nothing alike.

We have the same dark brown hair, but that's it. Examples? My face is very oval shaped with a curved nose, high cheekbones, and a flat chin. Connor's face is more balloon shaped with a pointier nose and an even pointier chin. His cheekbones aren't as pronounced as mine either. He also has hazel eyes, with a little bit of the green that I have, but a lot of brown thrown in there as well.

Still, the Aleshire Four don't look alike either. That's Matthew, Jensen, Nathan, and little Jocelyn. Their parents had died in a plane crash while the four of them were seated behind them.

Yeah. It was traumatic to say the least.

Matthew, whom we called Matt, is five years my elder. He's a dirty blond who's more brunet with green eyes and a friendly face. He's retired now, working in Disney World with a steady girlfriend and everything. He left after 138 completed missions with only 3 fuck ups, but that's still an impressive record. Something Jensen is close to beating.

Now, Jensen is only one year older than me, and his birthday is literally the day after mine, so we're technically the same age for about 9 hours until jumps onto my back and shouts in my ear about how he's older than me again. Which… is kind of a quick way of explaining the guy's personality. He's a dirty blond like his older brother, but more blond than brown. His eyes are a greyish blue behind his golden framed glasses. Oh, and he's tall. Very tall. He and Matt tower over me by a little more than a head, and I'm 5'9''. He's a complete sass pants and a dork and there are people in Denmark probably having nightmares about him right now.

It's probably obvious now why he's my best friend.

Nathan, on the other hand, is Connor's BFF. The two get along pretty well, sharing hats, sharing their passion for music, having inside joke after inside joke, the works. But since they're boys, they also clash and sometimes take it too rough. Occasionally they exit their sparring practices with busted lips and black eyes. Still, the two boys look more related to each other than they do with their actual family members.

Which brings me to Jocelyn. She was only about 4 years old when the Aleshires joined R.A.R.E., all cute and adorable. However, nine years later the girl is still cute and adorable but has also been known to hurdle knives into objects near people's heads, torsos, or hands if they are annoying her in any way. The girl has some major throwing accuracy, which makes my chest swell with pride because she looks like a mini copy of myself. Our hair, our eyes, our faces… damn, if Nathan and I were to say we'd been playing a joke on everyone and _he_ was a Trasic while _I_ was a Aleshire, everyone would believe us. I'm just thankful that she doesn't annoy me like she annoys her brothers.

Anyways, the six of us are really close, like family. We look out for each other and even manage a few correlated vacations outside of the compound. Mostly with retired agents we're also really close to, but it's not something everyone at R.A.R.E. gets. I'm really glad we met all those years ago.

Aaaand that's all the time I have for being sappy, so let's jump back over to the room I share with Jensen.

R.A.R.E. rooms don't have a CoEd/No CoEd rule at all. Two boys, two girls, boy and girl, Nonbinary, Transgender, they don't give a fuck. What matters is who are you going to live with effectively.

Here's the process:

If you come in when you're too young to start training, you stay in bunk rooms with the other young children. Go to class, study any language you want, visit any siblings if you have 'em, the works. Since you can't go on missions until you're at least thirteen and have to have trained for five years, most kids start their physical training at eight years old.

Once you're approved to go on dual missions, you're assigned a supervisor. A supervisor is any one of our solo mission agents who have been out in the field for at least three years. To be registered as a supervisor, you have to submit your name and be approved by the board, who then assigns a trainee that they think is going to be a good fit. You only ever get one trainee at a time. Very few supervisors train more than one agent before they retire, actually. It's generally a one-and-done deal unless they stay longer than average.

Anyways, once you're paired up, the trainee is placed in the double rooms with their supervisor and the roommates.

See, us solo-mission people get to pick our roommates first, and then when we're assigned trainee's they move into the room right next to ours, with a door that connects the two rooms privately. Often times, when the director and his board make supervisor and trainee pairings, they try to match up the personalities of the two trainees who are going to live together as well as fit them with their actual supervisor. The hardest choice definitely comes from choosing that second trainee, and I don't envy the board one bit for having to make those choices.

I don't have a trainee yet, but I've been meaning to submit my name to the register. I meet all the qualifications, and just because I fucking swear all the fucking time doesn't mean I can't be a Goddamn supervisor! Sorry, I'm just tired of people telling me to 'be a lady' when I talk. Listen, folks, I'm a good agent. I've helped Connor, Nathan, and Jocelyn with their training more times than I can count, so I know I'd be good with a trainee.

Oh… um, when I come back and put my name in, don't use these logs against my case, please? Even if you're kinda mad, we do all have a purpose to not let our personal lives affect the workplace! Ehe… eheh… _I'm so screwed, aren't I?_

Welp, nothing I can do about it now.

Anyways, Zara Thomas, the girl who came in here a little while ago, is Jensen's trainee. She's from France, and that's where she's decided to focus on. Jensen, as a Canada and France Primer, is a pretty good fit for her. I believe they've decided to pose as brother and sister on their dual missions, which should work well for them. Zara and I get along pretty well, too, but she's made me promise to let her know when I sign up to become a supervisor. Since I don't have a trainee yet, she gets that room over there to herself. If my situation changes, she's going to need to do some rearranging.

 _Sigh…_ I remember when I was a trainee. In fact, that's where Jensen and I first met. We were roomies way back then, too. That was the start to how close our family's are now, not to mention how Nathan and Connor shared a bunk when they were y-

Hey, Jensen.

* * *

The blond boy had entered without even knocking, expression tired despite it being 10 in the morning. He didn't even respond to his roommate's greeting, slowly plodding his way across the room before falling face first onto the small futon. Standing at around 6'4", he had to bend his knees to fit on the cushion, and it just made him look more pitiful if you asked the girl watching.

"So… how was breakfast?"

He groaned.

"Did you miss out on the crepes again?"

"Mmhm."

"Did you finally get Peyton's number?"

"Uuaaaahhhgggh."

"I'll take that as a no." She took a sip of water, "By the way, Zara's pissed."

Finally the dirty-blond turned over onto his side, "Fucking damn it. I forgot I was going to check her packing. She's so anal about maximum spacing."

"Worse than Sam?"

"God, Sam would adopt her in a heartbeat if they ever met." Getting up from the futon, he lunged for her bunk, missed, but remained where he was with his upper half sprawled out on the blanket and his legs laying on the floor. "So, I saw Nathan at the fruit bar just before I left. I thought you guys were going to be in the training rooms all day. What happened?"

"I got called in."

Jensen looked up in shock, "Wait… Director's office? You're joking, right? You just got back from Scotland, like, yesterday! How can you already have another assignment? Good God, I think they actually want to kill you off."

She shrugged, "I was asked for personally. I protected one of the guy's son four years ago. Guess I made a good impression on him. I'm meeting him tomorrow at 6 and apparently I need to look presentable."

Her best friend snorted and rolled onto his back, stretching, "That'll be interesting to see. At least _I've_ got the namesake to be attractive."

"You were named after your great-grandfather and Jensen Ackles could look better than you even if he'd just clawed his way out of a train wreck."

"Point taken. So, where you flying off to this time?"

"Can you not see the book I'm trying to read?"

Tilting his head, Jensen attempted to read the cover of the book on her lap upside-down, "Katakana… Japan again, huh? Geez, sometimes I think you love that country more than you love this place!"

"I'm not telling you any different."

"Ha! Don't tell Alfred."

"Good God, why _would_ I? And you're not exactly pure either, I know you're looking at other countries for when you retire."

"Yeah, but not _Japan._ Japanese is _way_ too hard! Now French..."

"Didn't take you as a romantic."

The blond scoffs, "I just like it. And I'm not saying I wanna move there. I'd actually prefer Canada." A laugh escapes me and he punches my leg lightly, "Don't laugh, you wanted to move there too before they shipped you off to Japan for the first time."

"True. But changing the subject, how'd stalking our bastira go today?"

The boy's face grew a hint of pink, standing up quickly, "I'm not stalking. There's a difference between stalking and liking both coffee and who just so happens to serve said coffee."

"Riiiiight. And I suppose it's normal to be disappointed when there's no phone number on your cup when they call your name, or to suddenly forgo your 'usual' coffee when-"

"Alright, enough!"

"Jensen! You are back!"

Zara quickly bust into the room, her face both exasperated and relieved. Livia smiled and flicked a wave, "I was _just_ about to send him over, sweetie."

"Mhm. Jensen you promised me, menteur!"

"I didn't lie, young lady, I was just running a little late."

"Staring at Peyton like some se glisser does not count, vieil homme."

Livia was cracking up at her friend's affronted face, "It's true, Jensen. You should leave the poor boy alone, there's no guarantee he's a gay little butterfly like you."

"Fuck you, Livia."

"I don't think I'm your type."

Offering both middle fingers towards the brunette, Jensen was physically dragged out of one room and into the next. Livia merely smiled and waved until the door shut. Sighing, she cast her gaze between the recorder and the pile of books she had yet to go through. With a louder sigh -more of a groan really- she picked the silver recorder up off the blanket and held it to her face.

* * *

End Log 2. I'm gonna be at this for a while.

* * *

 **So, fair warning now so I don't forget to mention it in the future. This story** _ **does**_ **have a sequel planned (and you'll probably want one when I finish this), but it will dangle into the crossover territory. So, if you see a name or a description that seems familiar, that's why.**

 **Other than that, this is another build-up/information chapter. The next one should start getting into the story itself, so I hope you're still interested in this story by then.**

 **If you already like this story, please favorite, follow, and leave a little review!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	4. Log 3

**Hey, y'all! So... classes are already horrible. It sucks that I'm the youngest in all of them by a full year (hooray for accelerated tracks) but I really hope to keep on top of my homework. There have been a few bumps in the road already, but I'm handling them okay, at least. Campus food is good, at least. I'm actually eating some healthy stuff. It's weird.**

 **Thank you Momochan77 and queenglitch for your reviews on my previous chapter! It means a lot to me that you like the story so far. I promise to get to the chase really soon!**

* * *

 _ **R.A.R.E. Central Base**_

 _ **Exact Location: Classified**_

 _ **Conference Room 3**_

 _ **0557 hours**_

* * *

I am a morning person.

I know that's probably a big surprise to you all, considering my foul attitude these past two logs, but I'm actually a pleasant person to be around when no one's pissing me off. And I'm not grouchy in the morning. Sure, I may be tired and sluggish if I only get a few hours in, but I oftentimes don't even need an alarm to get me up on time. My roommate is constantly horrified and impressed by this fact.

So, it was to no one's surprise when I walked into my morning debrief with bright eyes and half of a buttered toasted bagel in hand.

* * *

"You're early."

"You're surprised? I thought you wanted me on my best behavior? I'm early. Best behavior."

The Director shrugged, gesturing to the empty seat beside him, "Well, you're earlier than our client, which is good."

Livia took a large bite out of her breakfast, then mumbled around her mouthful, "Fink I can finisf thif before he does?"

"God, I hope so."

She did, licking the last trace of butter from her fingers when the door opened, a stern-faced man walking through, flanked by two R.A.R.E. personal. He had greyish-black hair that matched his mustache and goatee, thin glasses, a thin nose, and an even thinner face. Yoshio Ootori looked like he might have been very handsome when he was younger, but time and stress and the weight of such a large business enterprise had worn him down into a very angry looking man.

Director Mathias and Mr. Ootori shook hands before turning towards the young girl, "Agent Trasic, this is Yoshio Ootori. You two have met four years previously."

Livia let her lips twitch with a small smile, one that spoke of recognition but not familiarity, "I do recall. It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Ootori." She offered her right hand in a handshake and mentally thanked her presight to use her left hand to carry her breakfast. As the two shook hands, she held her once-buttered-and-then-licked hand close to her left pant leg.

The glasses wearing man nodded his head and then took a seat across from the two of them. He held his body in a relaxed state, but Livia's well-trained eyes picked up on the tells. The way his right side was slightly tenser than the left, probably waiting for the door to finally close so they could discuss business. And then his eyes, which he kept pinned on her director, were too focused. Too determined. He was anxious, which meant he believed this threat to be serious and harmful to his own person in some way.

Then Yoshio would occasionally flick his eyes over to Livia. The hard lines around his eyes would relax a hair. He was pleased that she had taken the job.

But Livia could not make out whether or not the man in front of her actually believed that she was pleased to see him again.

When she was anything but.

Finally the door shut and Yoshio took in a deep breath, "Let us cut to the chase. I'm hiring you to protect my son, Kyoya." Livia blinked, but didn't react otherwise. In her head she pondered whether she had heard him correctly.

* * *

Quick little backstory here. I don't know if this is going to create more or less work for whoever's reading this involving the report for Mission JPN-T1, but I don't want you to be completely lost.

So, you already know that I was hired by Yoshio Ootori four years ago, right? Well, back then, I was protecting his eldest son, Yuuichi. He was in his third year of University schooling and apparently he had come up with an idea to start constructing resorts under their family name, which had been a gold mine. One of the Ootori Group's rivals had grown nervous in their standing, as the natural heir would clearly keep the Ootori Group running at the top of it's game… and perhaps above.

Once the hit had been sent out, Yoshio was made aware and went looking for help. He found us.

Or, technically, he found me.

Back then, I was 13 and Yuuichi was 21, so it was a little difficult to find a convincing cover story to let me watch out for his safety. That had come from the second son, Aikio Ootori. He was in his final year of high school, and his father had him tutor me in Japanese, giving me easy access to their home. Yoshio had painted a pretty background behind my character, one with filthy rich American parents and possible tight business bonds. This left Aikio no real choice but to agree to tutor me in the language.

Unfortunately, he was very short tempered and it took a lot of time before it was even possible to attempt actual conversation. My real help came from the sister, Fuyumi. Not only was she an absolute sweetheart, but she was so happy to have a new female friend around the house that she was more than willing to talk with me about anything. Other than that, I had to rely on surveillance and stakeouts to keep an eye on my charge.

It had only taken the hitmen two months to make a move outside of the Ootori mansion, attempting to bust into Yuuichi's room and shoot him where he lay. I assume they figured that if anyone showed up to confront them, they'd shoot them too and reap a bigger reward.

Amatures.

Either way, I stopped them. About three in total. One got away, mostly because he realized the gunshots had probably alerted the family and they'd be in a bunker by now with the police showing up soon. Since I had a bullet in my leg, I couldn't pursue. The other two men were taken the jail, where they remain to this day, and R.A.R.E. eventually tracked down the third man a week later.

We don't leave things unfinished.

* * *

Director Mathias began scribbling down the name for filing, "How long have you suspected his life was in danger?"

"Perhaps a week. I have recently decided to pass down my family's company to Kyoya, my youngest son instead of my eldest." Livia raised her left eyebrow, but didn't openly question the man's decision. "You are wondering why I have so suddenly changed my mind on the matter?"

 _Shit_. Livia mentally chastised herself for clearly letting something slip. She kept her gaze upon the man as respectful as she could muster, "Only a little bit, but you do not need to elaborate if it does not matter to the mission."

"Unfortunately, it does."

She raised both eyebrows, this time intentionally, "How so?"

"My youngest son recently pulled my company right out from underneath me before it could be bought out by a rival company," She could see the man's lips twitch in an almost smile, "He handed it right back to me. I was impressed, and realized my son's potential for expanding our company beyond what Yuuichi could accomplish."

* * *

Okay, another quick intermission, because I'm fucking pissed off at this shell of a man! I'm telling you, I felt like I was gonna puke the moment he said those words. I wanted to scream at him, 'Is this the same son you smacked across the face when he didn't perform like you wanted him to? That son? That's the one you're suddenly impressed with and finally agree that he's worthy of being your heir?'

I remember Kyoya. After all, he is my age. And I also remember the way he was smacked to the floor so hard his cheek swelled and purpled. We had been 13 years old and I'd nearly gone 'Child Protective Services' on his father's ass. _God_ , I never want that to happen again. I would've done something about it, too, but please remember I was 13 at the time. I wasn't nearly as outspoken and confident as I am now. So… if it happens again while Kyoya's under my protection… you know what? I'm not gonna let it happen again.

Period.

* * *

"Due to my son's monumental potential to expand our company and finally bankrupt our rivals, it has come to my attention that there is a high price for his death. This is why I'm here today."

A yellow folder slid across the table, coming to a stop in front of Livia. She looked down at the photograph that was paper-clipped to the front. From said photograph, a very handsome young man stared up at her. He had black hair and brown-grey eyes, like his father, also hidden behind a pair of thin silver-framed glasses. His nose was narrow and curved out in a bit of a point, as did his chin. His lips were barely curved in a smirk as he eyed the photographer. His face was sharp and intelligent looking, but she could still see the hidden trace of kindness in him that his father lacked. Just like she had seen it four years ago.

Kyoya had a nice face.

"Miss Trasic, I am hoping to have the same agreement as last time, and keep the information of your protective detail on my son a secret from him and everyone else around you two. I've arranged to have you enrolled at Ouran Academy in the same year as my son. I must say, it was quite easy considering your grades and IQ level."

Livia took this new information in stride, since it was normal for her to not let the charge know why she was suddenly hanging around them so much.

"I see. Any other additional information? Places he frequents? Bodyguards?"

"His personal bodyguards have been made aware of the situation and will be informed of your presence. As for a prime location, my son is a member of the Host Club at Ouran Academy. It would be in your best interest to keep an eye on him there, as it has become a large part of his daily schedule. I've added the names and information of the other club members into the folder as well. I believe it is there that you would best be able to watch him."

Livia nodded, flipping the top of the folder over to skim the top page as her Director began discussing payment. Green eyes regarded one particular sentence of typed words with interest.

 _Vice President of the Ouran Highschool Host Club._

* * *

Hm. End log.

* * *

 **Okay, important little note to make here! To make this story work, I had to adjust the age of Fuyumi and give the older boys ages as well. I know Fuyumi was supposed to be much older, but now she's not. Sorry. All three of the older Ootori children are either married or engaged, though.**

 **Yuuichi - 25 (Married)**

 **Aikio - 22 (Engaged)**

 **Fuyumi - 21 (Engaged)**

 **Kyoya - 17**

 **Well, if you liked this chapter or the story in general, please take the time to favorite and follow, and maybe leave a little review? I do love reading the reviews I get.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	5. Log 4

**Hello my readers! So, I've been made aware that I haven't really given a good time table for this story just yet. Basically, it's set just after the anime ended, but it's a stand alone from the manga. There will be a reference or two to the Manga in the sequel, but for now it's by itself.**

 **To my guest reviewer, my updates generally occur within a month or sometimes within a few days. It depends on my schedule, my other stories, or the chapter content, but I do aim to update each of my stories at least once a month.**

 **And to Thedrawingpianogirl, your drawing of Livia was spot on with what I had pictured her as! Thank you for making that picture! Having FanArt drawn of your story is the highest honor one can besto on a FanFiction writer! (Now if only I can get someone to draw Jin Fujioka then my life will be complete!)**

 **Special thanks to Princess Royalty, Momochan77, Sage Mystic, queenglitch, Thedrawingpianogirl, Lucifer Dragonlordh, BizzyLizy, and a guest for your reviews!**

 **Disclaimer: Heck no do I own this OHSHC stuff. Livia's all mine, though.**

* * *

 _ **GaijinPot Complex in Bunkyo-ku**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Apartment Room 204**_

 _ **1502 hours**_

* * *

Wow…

Phase 1 was completed a lot quicker than I had anticipated.

* * *

 _Slam!_

Livia performed a quick bow to the driver of her cab before he speed off, probably to pick up another client as soon as possible. Sighing, the brunette shifted the bags and suitcases in her arms and started stumbling towards the apartment complex in front of her. It was a small place, with probably less than 20 apartments in total and only two floors, but Livia knew there had been many reasons for placing her base here. For example, no one could tell for certain how long Livia would be in Japan. It could be only a week or perhaps half a year, so it was in everybody's best interest for her to stay in a small place that she could rent for however long or short of a time she'd need.

And then there was the case of her neighbors.

"Do you need any help with that?"

"Eep!" Acting startled, Livia purposefully dropped one of the duffel bags that had been in her hands. Looking up, she was met with the sight of a pretty lady quickly trotting towards her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you! Can I help with that? Those look awful heavy!"

In her head, Livia could see the file for Haruhi Fujioka. Included among her living family members was Ryoji "Ranka" Fujioka, her transvestite father with a flamboyant personality and a heart that belonged to his daughter. The brunette smiled gratefully at the man.

"Yes, please. Thank you."

Ranka smiled broadly back, bending down to pick up the duffel that had been dropped, "It's no trouble, dear. Would you like me to take that backpack of yours, too?"

"Oh, no thanks! But could you take this other bag, please? I'll need a free hand to open my door."

The trannie laughed and agreed, beginning his bubbly introduction of himself while Livia internally let out a breath of relief. Inside of the backpack were the files and most of the equipment Livia would be using during her stay. Thanks to retired R.A.R.E. agents who had become foreign diplomats, airline pilots, and securities guards, agents like Livia could easily move their equipment from the base to another country.

"So, what about you?"

Quickly jumping back into the conversation, Livia adopted a sheepish sort of smile, "Me? Oh, I'm so sorry, how rude! My name is Trasic Livia. I'm a foreign exchange student, actually."

"Really? What grade?"

"I think you call it… a High School 2nd year, here?"

"How exciting! What school are you transferring into? Is it nearby?"

"Ouran Academy, but I'm a little nerv-"

"OURAN ACADEMY? HARUHI! COME OUT HERE I'VE FOUND YOU A NEW FRIEEEEEEND!"

Livia blinked as Ranka bolted up the steps to the second floor, his entire being surrounded by flowers and almost tangible happiness. Following behind a little more slowly, she managed to unlock her apartment door by the time he came back from his own apartment, dragging Haruhi behind him but thankfully with Livia's bags still in his arms. The girl looked exactly like her picture: short hair, wide eyes, and the expression of looking 1000% _done_ with everything in the world.

Livia liked her already.

"Hi there! So… I assume you're Fujioka Haruhi?"

"That's me. I see you've already met my dad. What's your name?"

Ranka quickly moved closer, carrying Livia's bags into her apartment, "Her name is Trasic Livia! She's a sweetheart and she's transferring to your school as a 2nd year student, isn't that fantastic, Haruhi? Now you can have a friend to hang out with other than those Host Club boys!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes, but smirked good naturedly, "I happen to like those boys, if you haven't realized it yet, Dad. I did get a boyfriend out of hanging out with them."

"Yes… I'm well aware, Haruhi, sweetie." Livia struggled to hold back her laugh. It had been mentioned in the files how Haruhi Fujioka and Tamaki Suoh had recently started a relationship together. _And_ it also mentioned the animosity between Haruhi's father and her new boyfriend. Livia felt like their interactions would be her own personal version of home-entertainment while she was here.

"So, you attend Ouran Academy, too?"

"Yeah, I'm a 1st year student. It's an... interesting school."

Livia smirked, "Sure sounds interesting from your tone."

Haruhi shrugged, "Well, everyone there thinks I'm a dude, so."

At that, Livia couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Are you serious?"

"You know, I'm actually not so sure anymore. Last Friday I kinda danced with my now-boyfriend while wearing a dress in front of the whole school… so I think they've figured it out by now."

"I would hope so!"

Haruhi smiled brightly, "Hey… do you need someone to show you around school tomorrow? I wouldn't mind helping you out if you need it. I know how hard it is to try to integrate yourself into a school where everyone already knows each other and have their close friendships figured out before you even arrive."

"I… thank you! I would love that! I didn't think I'd find a friend so soon!"

"Glad to prove you wrong, then!" The two brunettes continued to smile at each other before Ranka reappeared from inside of the apartment.

"OH! My Haruhi's made a new friend! And it's a GIRL! I'm so happy!"

The shorter brunette rolled her eyes, but her tone was light as she started steering her father down the 2nd floor balcony, "Come on, Dad, I'm sure Livia-senpai wants to get unpacked, we should let her be. See you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Haruhi! See ya!"

* * *

Yeah… I totally didn't expect that. I mean, sure, I knew the Fujioka's would be my neighbors by a few doors, but I hadn't expected to run into them on the first day. Of course, I'm not complaining. This is going to make Phase 2 a lot easier.

 _Crack!_

 _Fuckin… dam_ n it! I'm trying to unpack and record at the same time and I'm really just pissing myself off trying to multitask. It's so hard doing this one handed! But I'm almost done with my clothes so maybe I can keep trying. I've got everything in my dresser already, so I just have to hang my stuff up in the closet. Ooh! I think this is the duffel for my school uniforms! Director Mathias said he'd gotten me about fiv-

Oh _helllll_ no! No no no no NO I will NOT wear this yellow monstrosity! I REFUSE! Wait, there's something pinned to this one. Maybe I don't...

...

Mother _fucking CUNT!_

 _I hate my fucking Director!_ If he's listening in; FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE! And screw your 'just wear the stupid uniform, you're supposed to fit in' note! I swear I'm gonna puke if I have to wear this the whole time I'm here! Good _God!_

Well, the Son of a bitch can force me to wear this every day… but he can't stop me from burning it when I get back home, now _can_ he?

End log. I think I'm about to have my first intimate moment with my new toilet.

* * *

 **Yeah, I just searched for apartment complexes in Bunkyo and picked the first one that popped up. No real research was put into the complex name. And I just threw in as many curse words and swears into that last bit, because, let's be honest, the Ouran Academy Girls uniform is not very flattering.**

 **Livia's in Japan now! Yay! Tomorrow? School time! But for now, I'm just going to sit here and watch the Harry Potter Weekend and eat stuff that's not good for me.**

 **If you liked, please favorite, follow, and review!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	6. Log 5

**Writing through a three-day weekend and this is what I have to show for it. Oh well, I had a lot of information to put in here, and I think I covered everything I wanted. This is hopefully going to set the mood for when I get into the meatier parts.**

 **Thank you to Momochan77, Princess Royalty, and queenglitch for your reviews! You make me smile!**

 **Disclaimer: I own less of this chapter than most of my previous ones, but I still own Livia.**

* * *

 _ **Ouran Academy**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Front Courtyard**_

 _ **0743 hours**_

* * *

You know, you always hear about how to act brave when you're truly terrified. Public speaking, performing, interviews... no matter where you turn all you hear about are facts and tips for dealing with social or speaking anxiety. Now, I'm not saying it's bad that people with those things now have a way to work around them, but do you know what's harder?

In my opinion, it's acting nervous when you really couldn't give a flying fuck.

That's exactly what I had to do walking up to my new school for the unknown future this morning. I was in my new uniform, holding my school bag, and looked just like any other student. But when someone took a passing glance at my face, it turned into a one-sided staring contest. And me, being me, couldn't care even a bit that they were staring, but I had to act as though they were making me nervous. A eye-shift here, a tightening grip there, deeper breathing, and a slightly faster-paced walk than normal.

And yeah, it was a little difficult to remember to not act too sure of myself. Coming from someone who had been trained to have complete faith in my abilities and my intuition, it's hard to act like you met the girl you've been talking to all morning just yesterday, and you don't already have an entire file of her life memorized in your head.

* * *

"Hey, don't be nervous. You'll do fine."

Livia bit her lower lip, "It's not the classes I'm worried about."

Her new friend rolled her eyes, but waved at a few students who called out to her, "Don't worry about them. I'm sure they're more interested at staring at me right now than you." At that, Haruhi tugged at the black skirt swishing around her legs. Livia couldn't help but be jealous that she couldn't have followed in Haruhi's footsteps, wearing the top of the boy's uniform and a black skirt along with it, but that 'would've drawn unwanted attention from the school, students, and families'.

"Maybe... Or it's my green eyes."

"True. We don't have many people with green eyes here. But then again, Sen- I mean, Tamaki, has purple eyes and he's extremely popular around here. Maybe they like seeing new things?"

Livia opened her mouth, hesitated, then shook her head, "You know, you haven't talked much about your boyfriend in the short time we've known each other, but when you do I can never tell if you're exasperated or enamored." She pulls a laugh from the girl beside her, but doesn't receive an actual answer, because a blond and blue blur suddenly shoots across Livia's field of vision and grabs onto Haruhi.

If it wasn't for the fact that she'd seen the boy coming from the school entrance and he had blond hair and purple eyes like Haruhi had said, Livia would've blown her cover right then and there by knocking him out. Despite all of this, the brunette couldn't help but be amused as Haruhi started shouting at her boyfriend to release her. Haruhi turned her pleading eyes to Livia, who smirked and waved before continuing to walk up to the school. She knew she'd catch shit from the shorter girl later, probably during the lunch hour, but she did need to go check in at the office before school started.

She had set one foot past the threshold when she felt a pair of eyes on the back of her head. Turning her head slightly, she caught a glimpse of surprised grey eyes watching her as she stepped past the front doors.

Livia did her best to hide a smile.

* * *

So, a minute or two after walking into the office, I learn that I'm in Class 2-A. That's Tamaki and Kyoya's class. Mr. Ootori had already told me that, and it made sense. Since I'm supposed to be keeping an almost constant eye on him, being in the same grade has its perks. It also puts me in the Host Club's sights, especially if Tamaki recognizes me from this morning walking with his girlfriend. Also... perhaps Kyoya recognized me?

Nah. Doubtful.

* * *

"Good morning, class! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!" Livia made sure to shuffle her feet as the far too preppy teacher started the day off. She 'shyly' raised her eyes to the classroom before ducking them back down to the first row's shoes. Standing beside the teacher's desk, it was clear that everyone's eyes were on her. "Today we are welcoming a new student to your class! Miss Trasic? Would you like to introduce yourself?"

Nodding meekly, Livia took a small step forward and bowed, "Kon'nichiwa. My name is Trasic Livia. Please take care of me while I reside at your school this year."

Chikamatsu-sensei smiled gently at the brunette before gesturing to the only open seat in the back of the room, next to the window. Livia returned the small smile and walked down the aisle to the seat. She kept her gaze down, but occasionally lifted it to look back at the people staring at her. Whenever she did, they'd look away and start whispering among themselves.

Livia wished she could kid herself and say they were just talking about her green eyes.

Sliding into the chair, the girl sighed and glanced out the window pane. It was cloudy outside and she wondered when it would start snowing. After all, it was late November. Perhaps she could send a few knick-knacks to the base for Christmas gifts? Or an ice cream sampler for Jocelyn's birthday, December 12th? That is, if she was even still here. Maybe this time this would only be a week long mission? While they were uncommon, they weren't unheard of. Would she be that lucky?

"Trasic-san?"

"Hm?"

Jolting out of her daydream, the green-eyed girl looked forward at the other female student. The girl was turned around in her seat, hands clasped onto the back of the chair as she stared at the agent. The girl had light-brown hair with similar colored eyes and looked nice enough, but that didn't necessarily mean anything in this world of backhanded compliments and scandal. Still, she was smiling broadly when Livia graced her with her attention.

"Hi! Looks like we're desk neighbors! Oh, your eyes are green! That's so cool and pretty! I was just wondering if you were another scholarship student like Fujioka Haruhi, in Class 1-A? I saw the two of you walking in together."

"Oh." Livia fiddled with the pencil in her hands, "No. I'm not."

The light-brown haired girl tilted her head, tilting her seat to be closer, "You're not? So… you're paying to come to school here? Why were you and Haruhi talking together? Was h- I mean, she, showing you around?"

"No. Well, yes to the first question, no to the last."

"Then... why did you transfer into Ouran? And how do you know Haruhi?"

"Oh. My parents got into an argument with my last school, so they sent me here until everything's settled back home. I've moved in next to Fujioka-san for the time being. She's very nice."

The other girl smiled, "I like you! You're so mysterious! It's a nice change from knowing everyone at school! And hey… looks like I'm not the only one who thinks so…" With a giggle, the girl pointed towards the middle of the room. Slowly moving her own gaze, Livia scanned the room until she was locked into an intense staring contest with a pair of grey eyes.

Snapping her face forward again, she willed a faint blush to come to her cheeks, "No… that's not the reason."

The girl tilted her head again, before laughing, "More mystery! You're fun! Oh, my name's Anami Kuriko! Are you coming to the Host Club after classes today? I think a certain _host_ would very much like to talk to you…"

"I…" Livia tapered off, flicking another look at the back of Ootori Kyoya's head, "Maybe. Will Haruhi be there?"

"I dunno. Maybe she'll still host even though we know the truth? I wouldn't mind, I still like talking to her."

Livia nodded mutely, looking to the front of the class, where their teacher was _finally_ starting their first lesson.

* * *

That's pretty much how class kept going on until lunch time. Whenever the teachers would rotate classrooms, Kuriko would turn around and try to get information out of me. I tried to disinterest her, but I quickly figured out giving her clipped answers had the exact opposite desired effect. Pretty soon she got two other girls interested in talking to me.

I don't think she's the assassin, she's drawing too much attention to herself and she's been at Ouran since she was a toddler. I know some of the agents back home would be quick to tell me 'You can never be too careful', but I gotta listen to my gut on this one.

Moving on, I'd personally much rather have people interested in the new girl rather than hate her. I can only imagine what my reception would've been if I had come in as another honor student…

Anyways. Where was I? Lunch time.

* * *

"Trasic-senpai!" Livia turned and smiled softly at Haruhi, waving at the other girl from her seat at an otherwise abandoned lunch table. The short haired girl quickly sat down beside her and smacked her shoulder, "That's for abandoning me this morning!"

"Your boyfriend. Your problem."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The agent laughed, pointing at Haruhi with her chopsticks, " _I_ don't plan on getting a boyfriend while I'm here."

At that, the brunette shrugged, "You've caught a few eyes. Even Kyoya-senpai was asking me question after question about why we were walking into the school together. Though… I don't think he's capable of developing a crush…"

"Capable of what?"

"Who?"

The two girls were suddenly sandwiched together by two red heads. Livia gritted her teeth as an arm was thrown around her shoulder. She had a thing about consensual touching. Namely, when that wasn't the case.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Don't be rude to my new classmate!"

The arm was removed, only to be replaced with a crushing hug. Livia had to bite back a growl. Thankfully, Haruhi was quick to notice that her new friend was growing uncomfortable, and she tugged at her boyfriend's jacket sleeve.

"Tamaki, I don't think Trasic-senpai wants you touching her."

The blond released the brunette who started stabbing at her pile of rice in order to not bite anyone's head off. He instead wedged himself between Haruhi and Kaoru, holding the shorter brunette close to his side. Girls all around the room dissolved into happy heart eyes as they watched the cuteness unfold. What they missed was Kyoya sitting down across from the new girl and tapping her shoes with his underneath the table.

Livia looked up and was met with those same grey eyes from earlier.

"It's a delight to see you again, Miss Trasic." The host club turned to Kyoya in surprise. He didn't often 'flirt' while outside of the Host Club. Unless he was in the presence of an important business partner.

Livia offers a small smile, aiming for endearing, "The pleasure's all mine, Mister Ootori. Congratulations on being named your family's company's heir. The title is well deserved."

"Wait… how do you two know each other?"

Kyoya leaned back in his seat, smile now more of a smirk, "Our families are in business together, strengthening our companies overseas ties. Four years ago, Miss Trasic was in Japan for the first time, and my second oldest brother tutored her in our language. We got to know each other quite well during that time."

Livia nodded along to his story, but tried not to roll her eyes at that last sentence. The truth was that she and Kyoya had only had the bare minimum contact and he was never truly interested in her outside of his father's gaze. At the very least, he had respected her for the friendship she had with his sister. Other than that? They hadn't actually spoken to each other other than the occasional greeting or small talk at the dinner table.

"So… is 'Miss Trasic' joining us at the host club?"

"Yeah, you need more guests, Kyoya-senpai. Or else people are going to think you're undesirable."

The ravenet looked like he was biting back a retort for the twins, and he reigned himself in well, smirking charmingly at the girl across from him, "If she'd like to request me, I most certainly wouldn't say no."

Livia willed up a small blush, thinking about the first time she'd accidentally walked in on Jensen when he was 'changing', "I… I'd like to come see what the fuss is about your club. But I don't think I'll be requesting anyone this time around."

* * *

So… it took some _major_ wheedling from myself and Haruhi, but eventually Tamaki agreed that I didn't have to sit with Kyoya for my first day. Of course, he kept trying to change my mind for the rest of the day. I'm starting to worry that the 'Honeymoon phase' of his own relationship has him seeing romance everywhere in his life. It doesn't help that Kyoya heavily implied that we had been close, even when we hadn't been, and low-key flirted with me at lunch. Now that I'm thinking about it, no doubt Tamaki's gotten it stuck in his head that we're star crossed lovers or something from when we were younger.

Boy, won't he be in for a rude awakening when Kyoya finds out I'm not interested in those types of games.

Anyways, a few hours later I was sitting by another window and watching the host club. In a few words, I was not impressed. I was sitting by the window for maybe half an hour before I got bored. How could these girls find entertainment in being fake-flirted with one after the other? It seems more heartbreaking material than anything. Jealousy must run rampant in this school. I.E. Something I do _not_ want to get mixed up in.

Despite it all, I tried to make good use of my time by looking for possible escape routes. If we were to be attacked, what would be the best, second best, and last resort for getting Kyoya out of the line of fire? Stuff like that, pretty standard. I'm going to have to plug in sensors and cameras at some point. Probably in our classroom, too.

But first… a little message right here.

Saying that I was only looking for escape routes for Kyoya would've been a little understatement. I was trying to be mindful of how these privileged kids thought. Where would they run to, and how could I separate Kyoya from the crowd? That's not to say I don't care about the others, but Kyoya would be the main target and I had to get him to safety first. Besides, leading him away would draw the fire away from the crowd. Also, keeping him alive is kinda what I'm being paid to do.

Being as our services aren't exactly cheap, when someone wants their child protected, R.A.R.E. agents usually have a couple thousand dollars worth of services to provide. That doesn't happen?

Someone's death.

And no payment.

Oh, hey, did you just think that we use people's lives to generate profit and are terrible people? Well, I'd be happy to prove you wrong there, Buck-O.

First of all, not all of our jobs are paid jobs. That's why we charge a lot from those who can afford it, so we can use those extra funds to turn around and protect someone who can't. Or kidnappings or witness protection.

Besides, our equipment and buildings aren't cheap. Travel, food, clothing, lodging, water, electricity… those things cost money, People! And I don't know about you all, but I actually _like_ to be paid after I've had people shoot at me! And if I end up with a bullet in my leg, I would like it taken out at some point.

Yeah, still harping on the bullet in the leg thing. I know. Sorry.

Not really.

* * *

"Hey… Trasic-san?"

Livia blinked herself out of her thoughts before turning towards the three girls who were standing around her. She was pretty sure they had been sitting with Tamaki only a few seconds ago. It must've been time for another client rotation. But why were they talking to her now?

"Yes?"

"Why aren't you sitting with a host?"

She shrugged, "I prefer to observe. At least at first."

"Oh…" One of the girls sits down, "Well, how are you liking your classes so far? Is it different from America?"

"Incredibly. I'm doing alright, I guess."

The other two sat down on the couch across from the other two girls, "So… Kyoya seemed to know you. Have you met before?"

"Yes. Honestly, I'm surprised he remembers me."

"Why is that?"

Livia held back the need to try and scare these girls away with a long random string of profanity, but managed to remember her training. Swearing like a sailor wasn't very becoming of an heiress, after all.

"Why are you all so interested in me?"

The girls ducked their heads, "Well… you're interesting. We don't get many new people."

"And you're so mysterious!"

"I'VE GOT IT!" The four looked up at Tamaki who had suddenly appeared beside their pair of couches. "YOU WILL BE OUR NEWEST HOST, LIVIA! THE MYSTERIOUS TYPE!"

Livia finds herself at a loss for words for the first time in a few years.

"Oh, Tamaki!"

"That's brillant!"

"You're so clever!"

"W-wait… Why-"

"Well, my dears? Would you like to have another beautiful Princess to host you?"

At that, Livia finally broke out of her trance. She opened her mouth to tell the blond off, but a second thought struck. If she was a host… then she'd have a valid excuse to keep an eye on Kyoya. All the time. And this way, she wouldn't have to be a guest.

Swallowing down her harsh words, she sighed, "Fine. If they really want me. Just do not call me 'Princess' ever again."

Tamaki launched himself at the girl in a tight hug, "That's perfect! You're going to fit in so well here!"

* * *

Ending comment, it took all my self control right there to not just clock him across the face. Haruhi's boyfriend or not, I have a reputation to maintain. Just... not here.

End log.

* * *

 **Eh. It's alright. Spoken logs make great time skips, I've realized.**

 **I hope you liked it! If you did, please take a moment to favorite, follow, and leave a little review! I greatly appreciate feedback.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	7. Log 6

**My longest chapter yet! I put an entire day into the one chapter, which is why it took a full month to update this story. I'm not sure if that's how it's going to be for the remaining chapters, though. Probably not. I'm just making this up as I go along.**

 **Thank you to Momochan77, Princess Royalty, queenglitch, Princess Miller, and Ms. Spirit for your reviews! They are always appreciated, especially for my newer stories!**

 **Disclaimer: Still don't own.**

* * *

 _ **Ouran Academy**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Front entrance**_

 _ **0738 hours**_

* * *

"Livia-senpai? Where are you going?" The green-eyed girl paused in her escape, internally cursing Haruhi's strange ability to sense when someone was trying to slip away unnoticed. And, for some Godforsaken reason, have to say something about it.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi, but I have to run these papers to the office before class starts. They're super important. I'll see you at lunch, though."

The brunette girl bought it, nodding in understanding. But before she could do anything else -such as offering to join Livia in her walk- Tamaki was calling her name out from the other end of the hallway. Livia quickly took the opportunity to slip away before she couldn't any more. Once she rounded the corner into an empty corridor she took off running. Back on the clock.

Quickly bolting into the third music room, she went to the first corner, papers crinkling harshly as she stuffed them into the nearest recycling container. It took her nine minutes to set up her camera's -little square blocks only four millimeters long that were painted in the colors of the walls, pillars, and window arches- covering every square inch of the room while remaining invisible themselves. Livia riffled in her school bag for the remote. Scowling at the clock tower looming over her from outside, the brunette grit her teeth and started flipping the dials as fast as she could. If she was late to class, that would make her look suspicious.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, hurry _up_ already! Fuckin-"

 _Ping!_

 _Synchronization, complete._

"Finally."

Burying the device deep into her bag, she started heading back out of the room. She got one hand on the door handle when the other door was suddenly pushed open. Livia recoiled, her right foot shifting backwards in case she had to launch herself at an oncoming attacker.

"Miss Trasic?"

Adopting a wide-eyed look, Livia dropped her defensive pose quickly, "Mister Ootori. You startled me…"

"I can see that." The boy chuckled and stepped further inside the room, "Might I ask why you are in here so early in the morning?"

Without even the slightest hint of hesitation, Livia cast her gaze to her shoes, "H-Hikaru and Kaoru told me the host club meets up early in the morning. I had to turn in a few papers into the office from my parents and came here but… I guess they were playing a trick on me."

"Hm." The boy didn't sound all that impressed, or surprised. Livia repressed the urge to scowl up at him in response. Why she had to act like a little moron was beyond her. It was almost beneath her dignity.

"Well, as the two of us most likely will not have another moment to ourselves, I might as well jump at the opportunity." Livia raised her gaze, making her eyes go wide and 'innocent'. Kyoya smirked and stepped closer, a hand coming up to rest just above his heart, "Would you mind joining me and my family for dinner, tonight? My other siblings are coming home and I know Fuyumi would love to see you again."

Livia blinked a few times, reaching up to gently tuck a loose strand of hair back into her french braid, "I would love to accompany you to your home tonight, Mister Ootori. I'd very much like to see your sister as well. I've missed her."

Kyoya smiled, white teeth all but glistening, "Splendid. I shall inform my father of your attendance. My driver will pick you up at 6:00 from your apartment." His hand dropped from his chest and gently scooped Livia's hand up in it's palm. Bending in a low bow, he kissed her knuckles before releasing her and walking back out of the room.

The door slammed shut just in time for Livia to let out a low growl, "I'd be more flattered if your smile actually meant anything, _Mister Ootori._ "

* * *

"Hey, Trasic-san? Can I see your notes for a second? I wasn't able to get that last equation." Livia shrugged and passed the blue notebook forward in return for a big smile. She didn't return it, too preoccupied with trying to figure out her outfit for the dinner she was attending in a few hours.

* * *

Hold up right here, please. I was not thinking about that dinner because I was excited or because I like wearing dresses or any of that shit. Unfortunately, I knew that if I _had_ been raised in this richie-rich world, I _would_ care. So, how was I supposed to dress in a way that said 'I spent hours perfecting this outfit to look cute as _fuck_ and I expect to be complimented the _shit_ out of it'?

Just… yeah. I don't care about my appearance.

At all.

Okay, continuing.

* * *

"Woah… maybe I should ask someone else, huh?"

"Mmm?" Livia's eyes lifted from a hairline scratch on her desk to Kuriko. The light-haired girl was holding the brunette's notebook up for it's owner to see. She instantly understood the problem. The page it was flipped to was covered with words in both Japanese and English, sometimes both languages in the same sentence. Most of the equations and sentences were scribbled in any available space on the page, not always obeying the straight blue lines across the paper. It was a jumbled mess... to the untrained eye.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Um..." Livia pointed towards a line of variables and math equations somewhere in the bottom right quarter of the page, "That's the last equation we were given. Is that what you were looking for?"

"Yeah! Thanks!" Livia nodded and withdrew the hand, but her neighbor wasn't done with her yet.

"So, how does any of this even make sense to you? I thought your notes would be…"

"Impeccable?"

"Well, yes. You do seem like the type."

Livia shrugged, "It makes sense to me." And it did. While no one else seemed to be able to see it, whenever Livia made her notes, there was an organized chaos about them. She assumed it came from having to decipher so many secret notes and letters in her life, but her teachers at R.A.R.E. had never said anything about it.

The girl sighed, something she had done a lot on this trip. While she might love Japan, these classrooms weren't exactly where she wanted to be. Especially when she already loved the way her classes were taught at the R.A.R.E. base she lived at. Teachers and tutors who could pick up wherever any agent left off and integrate what they had learned while away into their new lessons. It was one of the things she was still ticked off about missing because of her back-to-back missions.

"You're hosting today, right?"

"I guess so. They didn't try to train me or anything, but I'll probably start today."

"I'm sure you'll be just fine! Haruhi didn't even get a day in between recruitment and hosting, so at least you had some time to think it over!"

Livia blinked. _They did that to her? Geez, I can't believe she's still hanging around them! I would've gone_ off _if that had been me!_

"Ooo… looks like your admirer is back at it again." Livia didn't even bother to turn her head. If Kyoya was going to continue to fake-flirt with her, she was going to continue pretending to be hard-to-get. By this point, she was all but praying that this mission would be over before the month was out.

"Not an admirer. Though I suppose he is trying to appear that way. Doesn't want me to say anything negative to his father."

"His father?" Kuriko turned around completely in her seat, setting Livia's notebook back on its owner's desk, "You know his father?"

"We've met a few times."

"Why? How?"

"Business."

The brunette girl narrowed her eyes a little bit before nodding her head, "That does it, I'm sitting with you today at the host club." And that was that. Livia had her first guest for the day.

* * *

I wish I could tell you all that I was 100% prepared for hosting, but in all honesty I didn't even bother researching it. After all, if I am to play the role of a classy young lady from an upscale neighborhood in America, I can't very well be knowledgeable on the goings-on of a Japanese Host Club, now can I?

Still, I'm started to feel nervous. It looks a lot closer from this side of lunch hour. Oh, _shit!_

Coming, Kyoya!

 _He's wants to walk me back to our classroom._ Damn _him!_ _I'm not going to risk using this recorder at school any longer. There's literally no room for privacy. Fuck... who waits outside of bathrooms?_

* * *

Three hours later, Livia watched as a whole mass of girls flooded through the same double doors she had entered through yesterday. A hand gently touched her upper arm, pulling her attention away.

"Don't worry, Livia-senpai. You'll do just fine."

She nodded, as if she had been watching the girls because she was nervous, "I know. I guess I was just hoping for some training…"

Haruhi shrugged, "I didn't get any training either. Just… answer the girl's questions in that half-answer way you do and you should be fine."

"Miss Trasic? You've been requested by the three lovely ladies over by that window. If you could please join them?" Biting her tongue, Livia nodded once before walking away. At the table Kyoya had indicated, Kuriko and two other girls she didn't recognize were waiting for her. Smiling politely, the brunette took the remaining seat.

"Hello."

The girls dissolved into giggles.

"Oh, did I say something funny?"

More giggles. Kuriko smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Are you excited to be hosting, Livia? Is… is it okay if I call you Livia?"

"Sure. And I don't know about _excited_ …"

One of the other girls finally stopped with her giggles, "So… tell us about yourself, Livia-senpai! I'm so curious!"

"Yeah, we don't get many foreigners at Ouran!"

Livia briefly cast her gaze around the room. There was nothing suspicious going on, which she had anticipated, but a few of the hosts were watching her with interest. Haruhi looked concerned, Tamaki interested, and of course Kyoya was watching her, too. But her charge was looking… amused. Almost entertained.

She had to hold herself back from marching over there to punch him in the nose. He was expecting her to crash and burn, wasn't he?

 _Fuck. That._

"There's not much to say, ladies, but I'm incredibly flattered you're so interested in me. I'm still getting used to it."

That sent the girls she didn't know by name back into giggles, but Kuriko remained on task, "How about some… general information? What's your favorite class?"

"I don't really have one, really. I'm pretty decent in all of my lessons."

"Oh, come on! I want a straight answer!"

"Fine. History."

"Exactly! Like tha- Wait, did you just say history?"

"Yeah."

"Finally!"

Kuriko laughed, leaning backwards into her chair as she finally learned something about her new 'friend'. The other two were also quick to jump on the answer, trying to pull out her reasoning or a specific period or topic that was the most interesting to her. Livia, of course, quickly went back into giving out useless and vague responses. The four of them jumped at least twenty more topics before the three left to make room for 'The Mysterious Host's' next appointment.

* * *

I have a feeling that if I wasn't trained extensively in evading interrogation, I would've been completely overwhelmed after the first half hour. Especially with Kyoya and Tamaki both keeping a close eye on my progress and every question I received attempted to pry into my 'life'. And I got a _lot_ of questions _._

Seriously.

Okay, I swear if you start laughing when you read this, I will find you and break your nose: I was popular.

No. Laughing.

I had far more guests than I could've expected. There was hardly a moment I wasn't surrounded by two or more girls who wanted to ask me a question… or twenty. Maybe it was because I was the first girl to be purposefully invited to be a host? Or were they looking for something like Haruhi... but with a different personality? I mean, the only other option would be they thought I was genuinely interesting.

And I can already hear you laughing.

The point is, I was much more popular than I had expected. Or anyone else expected. As proven by the boys (and Haruhi) surrounded me the moment the last guests walked out the doors.

Concerning the hosts themselves, Tamaki only managed to strengthen my first impression of him, which was to be a narcissistic, overly-dramatic airhead. What Haruhi sees in him, I will never know. I mean, come on, he literally said I was on my way to becoming just as popular as he was. At least the others were quick to inform him I was just 'good' at being mysterious. Kyoya, of course, just smirked at his black journal the whole time. What the heck is he writing in there that's so amusing to him? Maybe my camera's picked it up… I could check that tomorrow.

Why tomorrow? Because I'm way too busy tonight. Kyoya's car should be coming around any minute now to collect me and take me to the Ootori Mansion.

I'm currently waiting around my kitchenette in the only dress I packed. A simple dark purple number. The lady who sold it to me said it was 'Plum'. Whatever. I say dark purple.

Short sleeves, a modest cleavage, and a skirt that goes all the way down to my calves. It works as an evening dress and a dance dress, which covers every possible use I could have for it. And the best part? The skirt is made of that 'floaty' kind of fabric, giving my legs plenty of maneuverability. I assume it's main purpose was for dancing.

I was attracted to how little my fighting would be impaired. And how I could hide a gun on my right thigh and a knife on the left without anyone becoming suspicious.

What every girl thinks of when they go dress shopping, right?

* * *

Livia moved the recorder away from her mouth when she heard someone knock on the door. Quickly reaching around the back of her head, she attached the recording device to the bottom of her hair clip, making it look like the white 'Fern leaves' were an intricate barrette. The perfect hiding place… and much more dignified than say, in her bra.

Instead of her typical french braid, she had half of her hair pinned up in an elegant bun, the Fern clip delicately tracing below and along the sides of the mound of hair to hold it in place. The rest of her dark brown locks fell down her back in glossy curls, reaching the middle of her spine.

Taking a deep breath, Livia grabbed her purple and white hand purse and carefully walked to her front door. Peeking out through the peephole, the brunette's eyes widened in authentic surprise.

Pulling open the door, she stared at the short girl on the other side, "Haruhi? What are you doing here?"

The shorter girl blinked, "Wow… Trasic-senpai… you look good."

"Thanks. My previous question still stands, though."

"Oh… I just wanted to see if I could study at your place tonight. My Dad won't stop grilling me about you, but it looks like you're busy tonight."

Livia stepped back, gesturing for the other girl to enter, "Yeah. You can say that."

"Thank you." Haruhi slipped her sandals off, then looked at her neighbor, "You seem taller."

Livia hummed and gestured downwards, shifting her left foot against the tile floor. The silver heels sparkled wildly with the small movement, especially the thin lines that crisscrossed over the top of her feet. They weren't nearly as uncomfortable as they looked. The only tight part was the band around her ankles. Like the dress, they were the only pair she owned.

"Wow. You know, I never pegged you to be the kind of girl to… dress up. Even with your background."

"I don't usually. Only for business dinners."

"So you're not going on a date?"

"Oh, I'm sure he's going to sell it as one. But I don't have much choice on the matter." Livia sighed, dropping her purse on the counter space to the left of her front door. Haruhi looked around the apartment space, peeking into the living room. "Bare, isn't it?"

"Mm? Oh, no. I mean, there's less stuff than I expected, but it's nice. Airy."

The taller girl shrugged, "I'm not a big fan of the minimalist look, but I won't be staying here long. My guess is I'll be gone before next school year. So I figured, why should I bother bringing all my… all of my things, here? Or buy new furniture items? No… less work to just survive on this until I go home."

Haruhi nodded appreciatively, "That makes sense. I guess. You know… you're the first rich person I've met who hasn't completely irritated me with your lack of real world knowledge."

"I'll take that as a compliment. I've always thought the people in 'my world' were morons. Going on and on about hair and clothes and 'who's marrying who'. So shallow."

"I used to think so, too, but you're all so confident in yourselves and… there are a few who are actually kind hearted."

"Like Tamaki?"

The girl smiled softly, "Yeah… like Tamaki. But anyways, where are you heading off to?"

"Oh. The Ootori's."

Haruhi looked confused, like Livia had just announced she was a werewolf, "What for?"

Livia huffed a short breath, "He invited me to a dinner with his family. Mother and Father would never forgive me if I turned down an offer like that. Besides, I'm fond of his older sister, and this might be the only opportunity for me to see her while I'm in Japan." She glanced at the clock on the wall as Haruhi nodded, accepting her explanation… even if it wasn't the full truth.

In reality, Livia still had a few more cameras to set up.

"So, when do you have to be there?"

The green-eyed girl opened her mouth, but just then there was another knock on her door. They both turned to look at it.

"6 pm. Right on time. I'm sorry I can't help with your studying problem, Haruhi."

"It's alright. You're busy." Haruhi eyed the front door with distaste, "While I might be able to call myself Kyoya-senpai's friend, I'm not so sure I'd want to join a family dinner with him. His father…"

"Oh, believe me, I'm well acquainted with the kind of man his father is. And his brothers. But I should be going." She scooped up her purse once again as Haruhi slipped on her shoes. Pulling open the door for the second time that evening, Livia came face to face with a strange man in a black suit and matching cap.

"Miss Trasic Livia." He bowed deeply, "I am here to escort you to the Ootori family home, under the direction of Master Kyoya."

Livia kept a blank face, "Thank you very much. Might I inquire your name?"

The man stared at her, an almost startled expression on his face before it melted into a grateful one, tilting his hat towards her, "Choshi Minoru, M'lady. Master Kyoya's personal driver. Shall I lead you to the car?"

She smiled and stepped out of the apartment, "Let me lock up first, then yes, Choshi-san. I would be most grateful." Haruhi stepped out behind her and waved goodbye as Livia locked the door.

Taking the man's offered arm, she allowed herself to be lead down the steps. As much as she didn't like how the interaction made her look helpless without a man's help, Livia kept her poise. Also, she liked the chauffeur. He happily told her about how long the drive would be between the complex and the Ootori's home, asking if she preferred to listen to the radio while being driven or if there was anything else she would wish to be provided. She declined, but smiled at the man anyways. He was kind.

It wasn't until they drew closer to the car that he went back to his reserved state she had seen when he showed up at her door. He slipped his arm away from hers and stood by the back door. With his back uncomfortably straight, he grasped the handle and pulled.

"You look lovely this evening, Miss Trasic."

Livia blinked, "Mister Ootori… what a surprise." She had to strain to not clench her purse in distaste, "I was unaware you'd be picking me up personally."

Kyoya smirked and gestured for her to get in the car. She stepped in, giving Choshi one last grateful glance before sitting on the seat and pulling her dress skirt in after her. She nodded at the chauffeur and the door shut softly at her side. She reached up to grab her seatbelt, her pointer finger lifting up to press at the car frame, just above the seat belt bracket.

 _Car surveillance? Check._

"Are you nervous, Miss Trasic?"

She turned back to the front once she was belted in, "Hardly, Mister Ootori."

Another smirk, "You seem much more confident tonight than you were this morning."

"This morning will not be what my parents will be informed of."

Nodding in understanding, Kyoya pulled his journal up from the pocket in his door, starting to scribble on a blank page as the car pulled into traffic. Livia looked forward at where the driver's seat would be, but all she saw was a black barrier. Such a shame.

"Just so we're clear, I only came to collect you from your… living arrangements tonight because it is the gentlemanly thing to do. And besides, I felt this would be the best place to make my one request of the night." Livia cocked an eyebrow, prompting him to continue. "It might do you well to address me as Kyoya while you dine with my family. There will be three other 'Mister Ootori's' for you to address before the night is out."

 _And it might do_ you _well to stop smirking at me like I just invited you into my bed, or I may just remove the part of you that would make that fun._

Of course, Livia just smiled, "I shall. Then would you mind terribly if I requested for you to call me Livia?"

"Not at all."

Twenty minutes of awkward silence later and Livia was able to climb her way out of the cabin. She could only pray that Kyoya would permit her to make the return trip home alone. Then she could listen to the radio and talk to Choshi.

In front of her, she saw the same mansion that had towered over her four years ago that continued to look down at her now. It was huge, at least three stories with tall bay windows and had a vaguely Victorian look about it. It was grey and looked as cold as it's current Head-of-House.

Livia didn't care much for architecture, but she disliked whoever had designed this particular building. It didn't look like a home. It looked like it was made to belittle whoever approached.

"Livia?" Kyoya had materialized at her side, left arm held out in a non verbal command. "Are you ready?"

She didn't respond, but lightly gripped his inner arm. He smirked again and began leading her up the stone walkway. Behind them, Livia heard the car drive off and internally cursed herself for not telling Choshi goodbye. He didn't deserve to be ignored. She really hoped she'd be able to speak with him herself by the end of the night.

The two 2nd-years stepped up to the front door which was immediately opened for them by an elderly looking butler.

"Welcome home, Master Kyoya." The white-haired man eyed the girl at the heir's side and he showed her a small smile, "And welcome back to the Ootori household, Miss Trasic. I must say, you are nearly unrecognizable from when I saw you last."

Livia didn't know how it happened, but somehow the coldest family in all of Japan had managed to hire the friendliest staff. During her consultation with Yoshio Ootori, he had informed her that their waitstaff had not changed since she was last at their home, and she was glad. Everyone working at the Ootori household had been there for at least ten years and Livia knew that the Ootori family assumed their workers secretly hated them… but that was shockingly far from the truth.

"It's wonderful to see you again as well, Shigeru. I was worried that I would be surrounded by unfamiliar faces after these four years, but that's clearly not the case. I'm honestly relieved."

Shigeru (she had never heard his first name) bowed and shut the front door, "Your compliments are greatly appreciated, Miss. Our kitchen staff and servers were beside themselves when they heard of your return. Do you wish to have your sweater hung up?"

"Oh, no thank you. I'm still a little chilly."

Beside her, Kyoya tugged on her arm, "Livia, we should probably move to the parlor. Fuyumi will want to see you before dinner is served. Shigeru, are we to begin dining at 6:30 still?"

"Yes, Master Kyoya."

"Good."

Livia sent the butler a small wave as Kyoya lead her through the foyer. Once they took a right into an empty hallway, she frowned up at her 'escort'. He noticed.

"What?"

"Nothing. I suppose it's just surprising to me how you fail to realize how lucky to are to have your staff. They hold you in such a high regard and you don't seem to appreciate them."

Kyoya smirked, "I don't think I fail to see anything. Shigeru and the rest of the staff are paid good money to take care of the household and treat us with respect. It's a purely business relationship."

"Is that what you call your Host Club as well?"

"Of course. There isn't much else it could be." Yet there was hesitation in his voice. Why was he trying to lie?

"...What a sad, frigid world you live in, Kyoya Ootori."

The boy looked down at her, but didn't get a chance to respond before they were entering the parlor. Livia dropped her disinterested expression in a heartbeat and smiled widely at one of the black-haired ladies sitting across the room.

"Livia-san!"

Fuyumi set her tea cup down and hurried across the room. Kyoya slipped his arm away from Livia's as his sister gently hugged the younger girl. From his place by the fireplace, Fuyumi's fiancé watched the scene with a small smile. But he was the only man who did.

"Fuyumi. That is enough." The two girls pulled away but continued to smile.

"Apologies, Father. I am simply excited to see an old friend."

Mister Ootori softly 'hmph'ed before making his own way across the room, "Be that as it may, you would do well to not forget yourself in front of business partners." The ravenette nodded, but sent a secret wink in Livia's direction.

"Miss Trasic. It is a delight to see you once again."

Livia nodded, curtsying, "Likewise, Mister Ootori."

The man regarded her for a few seconds before turning to reintroduce his wife, a very stiff and proper looking older woman, his other sons, and Fuyumi's husband. Aikio and Yuuichi then introduced the two women standing with them. Yuuichi's wife and Aikio's fianceé. The two women looked refined, but Livia saw the barest trace of fire in their eyes. They may be calm here, but the agent had no qualms that they were this soft spoken in their own homes. Perhaps these Ootori boys have a type? Or it just takes strong women to be able to even remotely deal with Ootori boys?

Introductions out of the way, Mister Ootori walked off to speak with Kyoya over by the other men in the room. Misses Ootori went back to her tea, but the three girls closer to her age remained by Livia.

"It's very nice to finally meet you, Miss Trasic."

"Yes, Fuyumi wouldn't stop talking about you."

Fuyumi giggled as green eyes looked at her in amusement, "Did she now? I hope she didn't exaggerate anything."

"Of course not!"

"So, Miss Trasic…" Konami, Yuuichi's wife, suddenly looked very mischievous, "It would appear that you've caught the eye of the last available Ootori. Well done."

Minae and Fuyumi giggled, but Livia's joking mood vanished, "Oh, I do hope you're joking. Or that you are wrong. If I have, that is most unfortunate."

The other three stopped their laughter, "Unfortunate?" Fuyumi looked almost hurt, "But Livia-san…"

"Oh, no, Fuyumi, I'm not trying to insult Kyoya or anything! And as much as I would love to be family with you, I'm not staying for long. Once Mother and Father find me a new school to attend in America, I'm going home. I would hate to leave a broken heart behind me, especially if it was unintentional."

And now the older girls looked crushed. Geez, how many people were going to think she and Kyoya were star-crossed lovers?

"Gentlemen, ladies, your dinner is ready to be served."

Thanking the high heavens for providing a perfect out of the conversation, Livia smiled at Shigeru as the butler turned and began leading their party of ten out of the parlor and into the adjacent room across the hall.

The dining room was just as grand as she remembered. It was the only warm room in the entire house, not just in temperature but also in looks. Golden-painted walls, warm lights, rich reds and pure whites decorating the table in an intricate pattern, and the heavenly scents that wafted in from the kitchen. You couldn't help but relax in the environment.

Livia went to follow Fuyumi, but Kyoya pressed a hand to the small of her back. She wanted to swat it away, but quickly realized that they could very well have already decided where everyone would sit for the evening. So, she allowed herself to be led. At least, to make up for the rudeness of trying to control her, Kyoya sat her beside his sister and pulled her chair out for her. Livia didn't respond, but the boy was smirking once again as he sat to her right.

Continuing counterclockwise around the table was Mister Ootori, at the head of the table. Then Yuuichi, Konami, Aikio, Minae, Misses Ootori Noa (at the other end), Shido Hiroyuki, Fuyumi, and finally back to Livia.

The salads were brought out first, and the ten of them maintained light-hearted conversation with each other. After all, other than Livia, they were all family or at least close to being family. Livia was asked very few questions regarding her parent's business in America, which she was usually able to deflect or answer with a well thought out lie.

The conversation was going well until they were halfway through the tonkatsu dish.

"So, Livia-san, are you still in Kyoya's class?" Fuyumi was the only person at the table other than Kyoya who addressed the American girl by her first name, though she added the '-san' suffix that Kyoya omitted for the night. The two girls had kept up a pretty constant stream of conversation throughout the night, for which Livia was grateful. Fuyumi didn't ask about her family or the faux business the others thought she was representing, but was genuinely curious about her interests. Livia liked talking to the older girl, especially about her trips to the U.K.

Unfortunately, Kyoya liked to input his own thoughts into their conversation, occasionally answering for -what Livia quickly realized she was- his date. Like now.

"She is," Kyoya smiled at his sister, the one member of his family he seemed to genuinely enjoy the company of, "She has even agreed to join the club I co-operate with Suoh Tamaki. You should've seen him when she agreed... over the moon."

Fuyumi smiled back, but another voice from the other side of the table suddenly piped up, "Ah… the Host Club, correct? Is Miss Trasic in a secretarial position? Surely the daughter of such a prestigious business owner wouldn't host her male classmates? That might reflect poorly on her reputation. We wouldn't want such a lady to seem… immoral."

Instantly the table quieted. Livia's eyes narrowed. She couldn't have stopped that reaction even if she had tried. It might've sounded Aikio was just trying to take a jab at her, but she wasn't dense enough to not notice it was also a swipe at Kyoya. And yet the boy to her right simply continued to eat as if he hadn't heard his brother's comment.

Mister Ootori dabbed at his bottom lip with a napkin, "Now, Aikio, my son, if Miss Trasic has decided to join Kyoya's club, we should respect her decision. I'm sure she made the choice for the right reasons."

Aikio looks back at his own plate, ignoring the way Minae was glaring daggers at him out of the corner of her eye, but Livia decided she would not let the remark slide. She had been forced to deal with similar comments the entirety of her last assignment for the Ootori family. No way in Hell would she let that happen again.

She smiles in Yoshio's direction, but purposefully ensures the warmth doesn't reach her eyes, "Don't worry, Mister Ootori. I don't mind Aikio's questions. After all, if he is genuinely interested, I'm all too happy to correct his assumption that I'm only capable of being the Host Club's secretary." Livia turned her condescending expression towards the second son, who was looking at her in wary interest before going back to his father.

"I _am_ an actual host alongside your son and his friends. But I'm serving female clients only, not male. Incidentally, I'm quite grateful to Kyoya for the opportunity to participate in his club."

A few eyebrows lifted, but Livia ignored them, "Being in the host club has given me a quick way to bond with the female population of Ouran Academy on a fairly personal level. They trust me with information about their lives, which is amazing given how it's only my second day attending the school. Secondly, I'm relieved he was considerate enough to not force me to service male clients."

Her green eyes flick back towards Aikio before returning to his father, "As of this moment, I am not especially impressed by the men Ouran Academy has previously managed to produce in their environment." On her right, Kyoya took a sip of water. She didn't risk a glance at her 'escort', but she assumed he was hiding a smirk.

"Besides, I was informed years ago that my grasp on reading and writing your language is rudimentary at best and my penmanship is _ghastly_. I would _hate_ to burden my classmates who have gifted me with such an opportunity with my incompetence."

The table was dead silent. Livia looked around at the family. Aikio understandably looked uncomfortable while Yuuichi was being quelled under his wife's angry gaze. Though Konami's glare was nothing compared to Minae's. Livia had a feeling the elder Ootori boys would have some explaining to do once they got home, despite it was only Aikio who had been rude to her.

Either way, no one dared to speak.

After all… if she had actually been an heiress to a family company they were dealing with, she just proved that she does not forget an insult. Which Aikio had done. Twice, now.

Returning her eyes to Mr. Ootori, she saw his calm facade on the outside. But underneath was barely concealed anger. It almost made Livia smile. After all, what greater insult that having a young lady with no real foothold in his 'world' manage to outwit his second eldest son?

Of course, there was just the hint of respect there as well.

* * *

Okay, so I'm back in my apartment. I don't really feel like talking about everything else that happened tonight, so I'm just going to give you the basic hits and let whatever my recorder pick up fill in the blanks.

After dinner, Kyoya offered to walk me around the Ootori mansion. I didn't really want to, because I was tired as fuck, but I did it anyways to plant all of those camera. Thankfully I remembered where a lot of my cameras had gone four years ago, so I stuck to those sames areas with a few changes that came with my experience. My camera synchronizer was also hidden in my hand purse with the cameras, so all I had to do once I finished planting the final one was stall in that one place until it finished.

Which I did by the way. Beautifully if I must say so myself. But... something unexpected happened.

* * *

"I don't recall you being so outspoken before."

Livia gently ran a single finger along the edge of a mahogany table, where a beautiful vase sat atop… not doing anything but looking pretty. Once the camera was stuck to the bottom of it, she pulled away with a sigh.

"Do you remember how your brother tutored me when I was here four years ago?"

Kyoya nodded, the two continuing to walk down the hallway, "I do."

"I had only the barest grasp of your language when I arrived, and he insulted me at almost any chance he had. He didn't exactly have the greatest temperament."

He went quiet for a few more steps, unaware how Livia's index finger had slipped into her purse, tapping her last camera to be placed. In his bedroom. It wasn't to be perverted or anything. Actually, the camera would be pointing outside should the assassins would try to sneak in through the windows, rather than risk being caught inside the house.

"You said that my family didn't realize how lucky we are to have the staff that we do."

"Yes, I did."

"I assume you meant that they truly respect us. Perhaps even care for us?"

"Kyoya-" Livia shut her eyes, stopping in the middle of the hallway. When she opened them again, the boy was staring at her. "Your staff members are perhaps the nicest waitstaff I've ever met. As for caring for you, most of them have known you since you were born. Don't you think that, perhaps, they might feel the slightest bit attached to you after seeing you grow up? Not everyone gets such a big family with such a history."

"I hardly call it family."

"You should. Just because you're not related to someone doesn't mean they can't be family. You have no idea how many people in the world would want the staff that you do, and not because they want their house cleaned or five-course meals. Just to have people who you can depend on..."

"What of your staff?"

Livia looked away, "Father is… very particular. If someone does not behave or respond the way he wants…" She pressed her lips together. Her father was never an easy topic. Especially when she had to speak of him in a false negative light… when he deserved everything but.

"Let's just say I have no one who has watched me grow up from when I was born to present day, and leave it at that."

Kyoya is still staring at her, like he's seeing her for the first time, "Your parents?"

"Kyoya, can you honestly tell me that your parents have watched you grow up?"

He didn't answer, and she walked past him, "Can we just… finish the tour so I can go home? My feet hurt."

The two continued walking for another five minutes before anything was spoken outloud. Kyoya pushed open a door, "This is the end of our tour. My bedroom."

Livia peeked in, "... May I?"

He stepped back, gesturing inside, "If you wish."

Walking into the room, Livia figured she had just found her second favorite room in the house. It was, in essence, her dream room. Huge bay windows that overlooked the yard. A wide spacious area with couches and tables for homework or guests. And a loft for the bed.

"Wow…"

"Hm. Haven't heard that one before." Kyoya had followed her in, but the door remained open. The two stood alongside each other, the girl taking in the room -also waiting for the moment to walk over to the windows without looking suspicious- and the boy waiting to ask the question he had wanted to in the hallway.

They both got their opportunity when Livia's internal timer reached zero. She walked over to the window closest to them, right where the wall between Kyoya's bedroom and the hallway ended. Her right hand pressed against the cool grey metal that lined the many glass panes that was his bedroom wall. Beneath her pointer finger, a square, grey camera was pressed against the metal.

Her green eyes reflected the moonlight coming through the glass as Kyoya joined her. He regarded the girl thoughtfully before speaking.

"I never managed to ask my original question in the hallway."

Every barrier she had went up right before his eyes, unaware that she was purposefully tensing her shoulders and tightening the skin around her eyes. Still, he smirked at her reaction, though it was a much gentler expression than its predecessors.

"Livia, I'm not aiming to upset you. I was simply curious why you went after my brother where the waitstaff could hear you. If they are as attached to us as you say, didn't you consider how your words towards Aikio would affect their views of you?"

The brunette looked at the boy blankly for a moment. He didn't understand why he couldn't always read what she was thinking or feeling beneath the initial layer, but it did interest him. The last time they had met he wasn't really allowed to have any interest in her. His father would've berated him for becoming distracted with something that did not matter terribly for his own future. What mattered most was for Livia to create ties with Aikio and Yuuichi, the Heir and the Second-in-command. But now that he _could_ experiment with this mysterious girl, he wished to know how she hid her emotions so well.

And to start: How she thought.

Finally, she looked back out at the garden. There wasn't much growing, as it was far too cold the time of year for anything to flourish, but the lack of snow let the grass settle into a pleasant light green color to still enjoy.

"Not at all."

"Hm?"

"I wasn't concerned about that. Not in the slightest. Perhaps some of your staff will think I was very outspoken, but I was wronged by your brother years ago and I was not about to let that recur. Especially now that I know how to defend myself with your words. My insults were, in my opinion, justified and deserved. I am not especially impressed by how your second eldest brother turned out, as proven by the way he tried to wound not only my pride but yours as well. And Yuuichi once watched our sessions all those years ago, and said nothing while Aikio insulted me. Your waitstaff will see my words as calling him out on a wrong and warning him from repeating his mistake."

Kyoya looked out at the garden as well, "And your family's ties to mine?"

"If your older brothers were inheriting the company, perhaps I would've said something to Mother and Father about their lack of respect for American women."

The boy turned back to her. He didn't speak, but she heard the question.

"You are different from them. Perhaps if you stop treating me like a Mistress and more like a classmate and club member…" her eyes crinkled in the corner, allowing him to read the humor in her voice, "Then we should get along just fine."

Kyoya smirked, "I do believe that can be arranged. But one final question."

"Ask."

"... Why did you defend me in the dining room? You didn't like me very much until perhaps this moment."

Livia's smile vanished, "It was clear that you were not going to. And no one else in that room who could have, would have. I cannot abide people who treat others like they are nothing when, in fact, they are…" Their eyes met before she looked away, "Extraordinary."

The two lapsed back into silence.

"You are perhaps the second person in my life who has said something like that about me. Thank you."

Now it was the girl's turn to smirk, "You must not be listening to the right people, then. Now, would you mind terribly if you lead me back to your car? I would very much like to go home."

* * *

Um… yeah. That was officially the last thing I expected to happen that night.

I don't know how Ootori Kyoya suddenly went from being a person I despise to being someone I can imagine hanging out with, but that's what happened. Honestly, having a heart-to-sort-of-my-heart with an Ootori wasn't very high on my "to-do" list, but it's nice to know that Kyoya's still a kind person once you remove the mile-long stick out of his ass.

Okay, enough insulting him. I need to slee-

 _Fuuuuuuuuck_.

I haven't done my homework.

Sleep will have to wait.

End... hold up. Have I ended any of my other logs today?

 _Son of a bitch I didn't!_ Holy fuck you guys, I'm so sorry! I honestly didn't mean to do that to you! Jesus... you're gonna have to catalog my whole day... crap. I'm just screwing up completely tonight, aren't I?

Jesus... I'm so fucking sorry.

End log, for your sake more than mine.

* * *

 **Um... I don't really remember how I wanted to end the chapter originally, but it wasn't like that. Just so you're aware, that was not them falling in love with each other. It was simply taking off the masks (at least in Kyoya's case) and acknowledging they didn't need to fake being friends. Just... clarifying.**

 **Also, so you're not confused from all the additional names I added in here:**

 **Ootori Noa = Kyoya's mother**

 **Ootori Konami = Yuuichi's wife**

 **Minae = Aikio's fiance** **é**

 **Shido Hiroyuki = Fuyumi's** **fianc** **é**

 **Um… yeah. Let me know what you think! If you really liked it, please favorite, follow, and leave a little review to let me know!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	8. Log 7

**Okay, little note here: I'm not going to make a log per day. This story has to give Livia and Kyoya time to… bond. So, if nothing of importance happens, there will be a few small time skips.** **But I've also been made aware that there hasn't been much action. There hasn't even been an attempt on Kyoya's life yet. I'll try to add a little more action here and there.**

 **Thank you to Momochan77, queenglitch, Ms. Spirit, Shantesa, and AusllyBeliever for your reviews! I'm glad that you've liked the story so far!**

 **Disclaimer: Ouran Highschool Host Club does not belong to me.**

* * *

 ** _GaijinPot Complex in Bunkyo-ku_**

 ** _Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan_**

 ** _Apartment Room 204_**

 ** _0801 hours_**

* * *

Alright. 'In compliance with the rules', or whatever, I'm using this recorder again.

Yeah, yeah, I know I usually don't give two shits about the rules, but Director Mathias gave me a lot of grief the last time I skipped out of weekly overviews. I don't really care so much about it, but whatever doesn't give me a headache, right?

So. Early morning. Saturday. First week on the job.

After the dinner thing last Tuesday with the Ootori's, nothing's happened. Nothing of importance at least, which is surprising. I wasn't expecting this week to be so… calm. It's a little unnerving to be honest. I mean, yeah, sometimes missions can take half a year or longer depending on how cautious our adversary is or how many there are, but it's a little weird that there hasn't even been a Test yet.

Uh, Test, for those of you who don't understand 'Trasic-speech', is my way of saying the guys trying to kill my charge have tested the waters. You guys were all agents once, right? You know what I'm talking about. Something precarious that _somehow_ started to fall just as they walked beneath it. An exposed wire. Some out-of-control vehicle. Or perhaps even an outright attempt on their life if they think they can get away with it. Though they typically stick with something that might spark more cautious behavior from the target to better control their actions.

But there's been nothing.

Yeah, I know… unnerving.

In a word, things have plateaued around here. Classes are somewhat interesting, at least, and I've actually gained a few daily guests at the Host Club. We've finally moved beyond the interrogation process and now the girls seem okay with chatting about anything, so long as my interest or input is vague and I'm more interested in what they think. Kinda like talking to the Council.

Hahahahaha!

Don't tell them I said that. Just erase that. 'K? Thanks.

As for the rest of the Host Club, that's plateaued, too. I'm getting along with everyone. Even Kyoya is treating me with more respect. We don't talk all the time, but he's dropped the whole 'your family is important to my family so I'm gonna fake the shit out of my personality for you' thing. That's helped a lot. Though he still calls me 'Miss Trasic'. I don't know why that irks me so much...

Needless to say, though, I haven't let my guard down either. And I'm still keeping my distance for the others. Can't get too close, right?

* * *

 _Bam-bam-bam!_

Livia clutched the recorder in her hand tightly, uncrossing her legs and slipping off her bed. She pulled open the door separating her bedroom from the rest of the apartment just in time to hear a voice call out from outside.

"Liv-chan!"

 _Honey-senpai?_

The brunette peeked out of her door's peephole and felt her mouth fall open. On the other side of the door was the host club. The six boys were staring at her front door expectantly, wearing casual clothes that probably collectively cost more than Livia's monthly rent as they waiting for her to open up. And Haruhi was there too, standing at Tamaki's side with an expression that looked both excited and exasperated.

Livia quickly lifted her overly-large t-shirt and stuffed her white recorder into the waistband of her black under-armour pants. Dropping the fabric, she managed to think _I'm still wearing my pj's_ before she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"Good morning!" The host club greeted before being stunned into silence at her outfit.

Pushing the door a little in front of her body, she cocked an eyebrow, "Can I help you?"

The boys abruptly turned away, a few red in the face, while Haruhi just smiled, "Tamaki decided we'd properly welcome you to the Host Club, Livia-senpai. So, we're taking you swimming."

"...It's the middle of November."

Kyoya cleared his throat, eyes still fixed on the upper left hand corner of her door-frame, "My family's Tropical Aqua Garden isn't set to officially open until this January, but I managed to pull some strings and we've been granted a full day to ourselves at the facilities. Of no charge to you, of course. And in case you don't have a swimsuit with you, the twins have prepared to provide one for you."

Behind the wood, Livia's hand clenched tightly on the door handle. A full day? In a place she hadn't scoped out or wired or even seen the schematics? All the ways the next 8 hours or so could go incredibly wrong condensed into a 5 second horror movie inside her head.

"Sure. Let me get dressed at least. Just… wait out here."

The door was slammed in the host club's faces, but the brunette couldn't feel sorry about it even if she tried. She couldn't get to her bedroom fast enough.

* * *

Oh, fuck. Fucking fuck, what the fuck!

Okay… okay, Livia… calm down. Right. No different from last time. At least I don't have to sneak in anywhere. I've been invited. I just have to keep an eye out for anything. Right. I shouldn't have to worry too much.

...

I'm so fucking glad they made these recorder's waterproof.

* * *

Roughly 25 minutes later, Livia was staring up in distaste at the huge building in front of her. Not because it was ugly or anything, in fact it was very tastefully designed, but as it was the source of a lot of her fears at the moment, she couldn't help but hate it.

"Is everything alright, Miss?"

A well-practiced smile replaced the flat fall of her lips in an instant, quickly directing itself towards the front of the car, "I'm fine, Choshi-san. Thank you for driving us." And she was. While the rest of the host club had been talking with each other about all of the new attractions they wanted to explore, Livia had taken a seat close to the front of the limousine and just talked with Kyoya's personal driver. Haruhi had joined her eventually, but now it was only Livia and Choshi in the car. The others had already climbed out.

The brunette was pleased when the limo driver didn't jump in surprise like the last time she thanked him. He merely smiled at her from the rear-view mirror, "It was my pleasure, Miss Trasic."

She nodded before climbing out of the backseat of Kyoya's limo, shutting the door behind her. As the limousine sped off, she was offered no choice but to follow behind the boys and Haruhi into the building. Her green eyes traced every detail they could. Possible hiding places. Trip wires. Traps. But she saw nothing. Her left hand reached up to her hair, tucking an already tucked lock of hair behind her ear. In order to hide her recorder for the day, she had french-braided her hair as she normally did, then wound it around into a braided bun. Then all she had to do was throw a white ponytail around it, attach her recorder to the elastic band, and it looked like a completely natural part of her hairstyle.

Jogging a little to catch up with the group, Livia asked, "So, you said you'd provide a swimsuit?"

The twins smirked from their place in the front of the pack. The brunette didn't like that smirk.

"We've already arranged for our maids to meet us here."

"They'll have a wide selection of swimsuits-"

"-for you and Haruhi to try on."

Livia raised an eye at her friend, "You're a part of this, too?"

"Yeah. You get used to it."

She didn't _want_ to get used to it. How was she supposed to be watching out for Kyoya if these boys were going to shove her into a changing room and make her try on a bunch of swimsuits? Maybe she could tell them she didn't want to swim? She had a tank-top on underneath her coat, so maybe...

A man opened up the front door just as they group approached the front of the building.

"Welcome to the Tropical Aqua Garden!"

Haruhi paused in her walking, almost making Livia walk into her from behind. The other girl grabbed her neighbor and steadied her, "What?"

"He's new."

The other boys had also hesitated at the sight of the employee, all except for Kyoya. The ravenet didn't even flinch, "Having some of the employee's here today was a necessity to let us use the facilities. After all, last time we were here we had some issues with security, if you can recall. After that fiasco, I recommended we hire a few lifeguards and public security, so we didn't have to depend so heavily on our family's private police task force. So, since we will be using the facilities once again, my father has brought a few of the official hires here as well. Not many, but just a couple to keep an eye on things."

The boys all nodded and continued forward, though there was some grumbling from the twins about having to follow the rules. Livia, of course, hung back until there was a bit of a distance between her and the Host Club. Just as she predicted, the moment the others were far enough away, the smiling face of the employee dropped.

" _Mr. Ootori wishes for me to pass on an apology. He is aware that coming here was not a part of your plan. Is there anything you need?_ "

" _Just keep an eye on Kyoya while I'm in the changing room. I'll keep you posted._ "

The man nodded before smiling again and gesturing for her to move along. She did, though she wasn't sure whether she should be grateful or annoyed... though she couldn't decide exactly _who_ she was annoyed with. Yes, it was very relieving that she wouldn't have to look too suspicious by not changing into a swimsuit like she had hinted at before, but at the same time that was the job of a protector. You had to think on your feet and react to situations as they came. She knew how to do her job, and now it looked like 'Mr. Ootori' didn't think she could.

"Okay, you two! Right in here!"

Livia raised an eyebrow as Haruhi groaned and walked through a door labeled 'Women's Changing Room'. She gave the boys a suspicious glance, "You boys aren't going to be hanging around out here listening to us change, are you?"

"We'd _never!_ " Tamaki gasped, though his face was red and a little guilty looking. But before Livia could call him out on it, Kyoya pointed with the tip of his pen to another bamboo constructed door a few steps to the left.

"That's the Men's changing room, where the rest of us will be changing. Once you and Haruhi finish you may wait out here for the rest of us or simply enjoy the attractions."

Nodding along, Livia caught the gaze of two men in security uniforms just past Kaoru's shoulder. They were standing on either side of a map of the building, and their gaze was trained on her. The one on her left pointedly looked at Kyoya, then back at her and nodded. While that didn't really make her feel better about walking away from her charge, the girl was at least able to force herself to turn around and walk into the changing room.

The sight that greeted her nearly sent her running.

"...They're joking, right?" Rows and rows of swimsuits were hung up in front of the two girls. To the right were suits for a girl around Haruhi's size, while the left were the ones that looked like they could fit Livia's shape perfectly. The agent didn't really want to know how the Host Club had gotten her measurements so quickly.

"Unfortunately, no. I had to go though this a couple times before. Do yourself a favor, and don't let the twins find out you didn't bring a huge wardrobe when you moved in, or they'll bury you with new clothes." Haruhi paused in her grimacing at the long racks of petite swimsuits to regard Livia with curiosity, "Hey, while we're on the subject... you don't seem to be as used to all this extravagance as some of the other students at Ouran are. Why is that?"

Inside her head, Livia cursed a blue streak, but maintained her straight face in the real world, "Just because I'm rich, that doesn't mean I get everything I want."

"It doesn't?"

Livia looked over her left shoulder, mouthed a few words that would've earned her at least a suspension from a school in her home country, and started walking towards one of the swimsuit racks with her size, "When you're not the male heir your parents want… no, I don't _exactly_ get that silver spoon life."

"...Livia-senpai-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Haruhi. Drop it."

Thankfully, just then a pair of twin maids emerged from the back of the room and zeroed in on the shorter girl. It would seem as though they remembered her. Livia rolled her bright green eyes and refocused on the rack. She needed to get back out as soon as possible. But she could only see bikini's so far. Was that her only option? A wave of uneasiness rolled through her, but she squished it pretty quickly. Her old bullet wound would be on display for all to see no matter what sort of swimsuit she was offered. But since she'd had to make excuses for it before, it wasn't a big concern.

"Do you like that one, Miss Trasic?"

"Hm?" The sudden appearance of one of the maids by her elbow didn't surprise Livia, but at the question she looked down at her hands. While her mind had been elsewhere, they had stopped in the middle of going along the rack. A dark blue bikini, a single strap going around her right shoulder, with bows tied at the hips on the bottoms. She wanted to say ' _no, thank you_ ', but knew Haruhi was probably already starting to suspect her 'rich' status. So… why not pretend like she was used to such a luxury item? It's not like the bikini was pink or anything.

"Yeah."

Grabbing the swimsuit, she was lead (steered) to the nearest curtained off area to change. As Livia pulled the bikini on, she scowled at the small pieces of clothing. She didn't like showing off her body. It wasn't that she was self-conscious about it, but it irritated her that there were people who would judge her on her body before they considered her intelligence or her ability to kill a man twice her size in 40 different ways. That tended to rub her the wrong way, if you couldn't tell. She was pretty proud of both of those traits.

Her lithe fingers tugged at thin fabric and elastic skin to adjust her bust more securely into the top half. It was pretty clear that the swimsuit was specifically to make her look desirable. She was showing so much cleavage it was laughable. And while the boy's faces were sure to be _hilarious_ should something _slip_...for some reason Livia wasn't all that interested in embarrassing them like _that._

An amused chuckled slipped out from between her lips when a sudden crash came from just outside the changing rooms. Livia's nerves went on high alert and she rushed the door.

Yanking it open, her eyes zoned in on Kyoya immediately. A long breath of air escaped her lungs. No blood. He didn't even look shocked or frightened or even concerned, so that was a plus. However, he was frowning deeply at something to his left. The twins. And Tamaki. The three were sprawled out on the floor, looking guiltily at a potted plant that had toppled sideways. Livia almost leaned up against the doorway in pure relief.

"Is everyone okay?"

The boys looked over at her. For a moment, they silently take in her appearance, then the twins let out low whistles.

"Nice swimsuit, Livia-senpai!" Five of the boys offered a thumbs up in her general direction, Kyoya merely nodding along. Green eyes rolled around in their sockets before their owner walked out from the doorway. In the back of her mind, she noted how the top half of the swimsuit hadn't fallen off while she'd been running like her 10 years were up. Good.

"Glad you approve."

She leaned her back up against a palm tree to wait for Haruhi, eyes flicking to the security guards standing by the map. The one on the right gave her a curt nod. They hadn't noticed any suspicious behavior. Good, but that didn't necessarily mean anything either. Livia had been trained for years to catch things that no one else could. She didn't look at things as coincidences. She couldn't afford to.

The changing room door opened, Haruhi stumbling out in a light green one piece. It wasn't very grand or gaudy, but she looked cute. Especially with the pink flowers decorating her sides. She also received a collection of thumbs up from the boys before the twins couldn't hold back any longer.

"CANNONBALL!"

With excessive cheering and whooping, they jumped into the nearest pool, sending a huge splash up over the lip and onto the concrete. Honey wasn't far behind, but just before he could take a flying leap into the water, his cousin grabbed him around the waist.

"Not alone." He said when given a head tilt. Honey's eyes widened, then he looked down at the ground and nodded. Mori lifted the small blond onto his shoulders before heading towards the steps into the pool.

Curious, Livia asked Haruhi what that had been about. The brunette grimaced, "The last time we were here, there was an accident with the current pool and Honey-senpai got washed away. It took us about an hour to find him."

"Wow."

Livia watched the cousins for another moment or two. She recalled from their files that the both of them were skilled fighters, ranked #1 in Karate, Judo, and Kendo. That alone garnered her respect for the two 3rd year students. Geez, what she wouldn't _give_ to have the chance to spar with them. That had to be an unforgettable experience for someone like her. Unfortunately, all she would ever be able to do was admire their skills from afar. She tended to do that with people who could kick ass. And then there was the fact that Honey-senpai reminded her a little of Jocelyn: Small, cute, and a bad ass when their temper was tried. Of course, that meant that Mori-senpai took on the roles of Jocelyn's three older brothers... but without their tendency to be annoyed by their sister at least once a day.

"So, do you wanna find a couple chairs to sit in... or were you planning on swimming?"

"Let's find some chairs."

Livia was glad Haruhi had been the one to suggest it. It would've been awkward to try to swim and keep an eye on Kyoya at the same time. Besides, water would've only slowed her down from rushing to Kyoya's aid should she need to.

The two girls ended up following behind Tamaki and Kyoya, who had also decided to relax in a pair of chairs rather than swim. In the end, Livia was beyond grateful for that. Haruhi was, of course, beckoned to sit beside her boyfriend, which meant that Livia could sit near Kyoya without looking like it was what she wanted all along.

The chairs were positioned for optimum sunbathing, but Livia refused to lean back. Instead, she sat upright with one leg propped up to rest her arms on, her right leg crossed beneath it. She couldn't relax even if she wanted to. As the three beside her fell into a simple conversation, Livia felt like an entire nest of ants were crawling over her.

Did that shadow just move?

What was that rustle?

Was that flash of light from the scope of a sharpshooter?

"Livia-senpai?"

At Kaoru's voice, the brunette almost jumped. Her eyes lingered on the edge of the glass dome ceiling before dipping down to face the dripping twins standing in front of her. The conversation on her right had stopped, so now the only one's not paying attention were the cousins who were racing around the pool.

"We've got a question."

"Yeah?"

The redheads were frowning slightly, brows furrowed as they pointed at her left leg, "What happened to your leg?"

Acting as though she didn't know what the twins were talking about, Livia made a curious noise in the back of her throat before looking down, twisting her left leg a little to properly see the circular patch of skin that was significantly lighter than the rest of her body. Another non-committal sound escaped her lips before she looked up again, "Just an old burn. Some candle wax dripped onto my leg a few years ago."

"A burn?"

Oh... great. Haruhi sounded suspicious.

"Yes, Haruhi, a burn. It was an accident. I bumped a table and the wax dripped on my leg."

Haruhi didn't respond, but Livia had a nagging suspicion that her neighbor was starting to get the notion that she'd been abused. Hoping to stem that conversation from taking place, Livia abruptly stood up.

"Mr. Ootori? Could you give me a tour of the place? If it's not too much to ask."

The ravenet tilted his head up a little, regarding her with interest. Then he smirked and stood up, "It's no trouble. I'd be delighted to show you around."

 _Yeah, I'm so sure._

Still, the two weren't stopped from walking away from the group, leaving Haruhi to fend for herself. Livia let her gaze move upwards, eyes narrowing against the glare from the sunlight coming through the glass ceiling. If she wasn't mistaken, there were a few tropical birds perched in the trees scattered around them. Livia couldn't help but wonder if and how they'd been trained to not drink from the chlorinated pool.

The duo just began crossing the bridge over the current pool when Livia broke the silence, "So... this is the idea Yuuichi came up with the first time I came to Japan, right?"

Kyoya nodded, keeping one eye on the host club as the two rounded the main pool's edge, "It was the first decent idea he'd come up with that actually pushed the company forward. Though, he had a hard time hiding how he was far more interested in the architecture of the building rather than the business aspect of it. Only recently has he started taking architecture classes at the University... once I relieved him of his duties as future head of the company."

"Is that so? Good for him."

The two continued to walk. Kyoya pointed in the direction of a few of the other attractions, such as the water slides and the surfing modulator. Livia nodded along, not completely interested but not bored either. They came to a stop between the central pool and a hot tub. Across the way, they could just make out the host club having fun. The twins, Tamaki, and Honey were playing a game of 'Marco Polo' while Mori and Haruhi sat at the water's edge, feet dangling in the water and watching the others. It was an oddly peaceful moment, and Livia almost forgot how she was only there to stop the boy on her left from dying a bloody death.

She sighed. It was a little bittersweet, in all honesty, to watch normal people enjoying themselves. There was only one pool at R.A.R.E.s base, and it wasn't for casual swimming. Livia and her fellow agents used the pool to learn how to escape sinking cars or save someone who was drowning and similar situations. So watching people get to enjoy something as simple as a concrete basin filled with water and not have to think about what Livia had trained her whole life to deal with... it gave her a strange sense of longing for the life she'd had before she was an orphan.

"Am I boring you, Miss Trasic?"

The brunette shook her head, taking a step backwards out of the memories, "No, not at all Mr- Look, can I just call you Kyoya from now on? We're the same age. I don't want to keep calling you 'Mr. Ootori'. It makes me think of your father."

If her classmate's expression was anything to go by, Livia had effectively stunned him silent. But only for a moment. Kyoya smirked and turned around, his back facing the pool.

"Of course you may... if I can call you Livia in return."

"Sure."

Kyoya turned his head to glance back at his group of friends. The girl regarded him while his attention was elsewhere, a recent memory resurfacing. _What a sad, frigid world you live in, Kyoya Ootori._ Livia hadn't meant to get so personal when she had spoken with her charge last Tuesday. Getting attached or even fond of the people you met on mission never ended well. But that didn't mean she couldn't help every once in a while. So if that meant showing Kyoya exactly how big of a 'family' he had, so be it.

"You're staring, Livia." The ravenet turned back around, his eyes dancing with humor. He took a small step closer to the girl, lips twitching as he attempted to reign in an amused smile, "Have you perhaps seen something that interests you?"

"No." She scoffs and crosses her arms, "Something of annoyance, however? Definitely. I simply noticed how you have yet to take your shirt off. Aren't you going to swim? That's why we're here, right?"

Kyoya smirked, "I have no intention to swim today. I just have to document the host's reactions to the place. After all, if we don't provide feedback, then what would letting us into the Aqua Garden early do for the Ootori group?"

"Tch." Livia rolled her eyes. Despite their 'understanding' from Tuesday night, there was no denying that the brunette's charge was an asshole. Just as she was about to tell him so... a brief flash of light caught her eye. She had been dealing with the bright sunlight flooding in through the ceiling all day today, so it didn't bother her, but instead of the usual yellow and orange colors the sun gives off… there's a greenish line crossing her vision. And it stops-

Livia calmly shot her right hand outward, her palm hitting Kyoya right in the middle of his chest. With a shout of surprise, he fell backwards into the pool, glasses and all. Multiple gasps circulated around the room as everyone stared in their direction. And while Kyoya's face was priceless, it was nothing compared to the looks she was getting from the other end of the pool.

Thankfully, the sound of his body splashing into the pool and his confused cry of her name covered up the shattering of the tile a few feet away. Due to the angle between the now broken tile and the green glint, the bullet now embedded in the floor would've gone right through Kyoya's left temple had Livia not pushed him. She looked around and saw a security guard running over. She held up a hand, the universal signal for 'wait'.

As Kyoya resurfaced, trying to regain his bearings, Livia glared in the direction of the green tint. There was the barest trace of a shadow just beyond the glass ceiling of the building, but then it was gone.

 _I guess that was the Test._

"LIVIA TRASIC!"

While she had been glaring up at the ceiling, Kyoya had found his footing on the bottom of the pool. His entire being was cloaked in an angry purplish hue, eyes hidden by the glare of his glasses. He was soaked, thick rivulets of chlorinated water trailing down his face and shoulders.

The girl raised an eyebrow, "What? You were annoying me."

Her simple comment only served to make Kyoya angrier, if that was even possible. It probably didn't help that the twins were literally dying of laughter just across the way. The others looked to be laughing as well, though they were keeping their volume down. For a while, the boy and girl just stared at each other.

It suddenly hits Livia like a brick to the face. Kyoya just… doesn't know. He's completely and totally unaware that his life is in danger. Though, it's not like she was unaware of that before. It was literally a part of her job description to not let him find out. But at the same time… wow. A bullet had almost blown his head off, and he was angry at Livia for getting him wet. It was so ridiculous and ignorant that it was all Livia could do to not laugh out loud.

But she could not stop her lips from twitching in a slight smile.

"You find this… _funny?_ "

She should've not responded. Should've apologized. Should've offered a hand as a sort of olive branch. Heck, she should've made up an excuse and said it was a muscle spasm.

Instead, "I just caught Kyoya Ootori off guard and pushed him into a pool. Nobody alive wouldn't find that stomach-cramp inducing hilarious."

With a snarl, the boy swam forward a little bit, planting his hands on the edge of the pool and heaved himself upward, crawling so he was sitting with his left side along the edge of the pool. Water quickly collected around his body, a growing oval of darkened cement. He took off his glasses and gave his hair a shake, flicking droplets everywhere. Livia smiled softly and knelt down in front of him as the soaked floral shirt came off, leaving the 2nd year only in his grey and red swim trunks. He ran a hand down his face in vain, drying to get the moisture off.

"Want a towel?"

The boy glared daggers at her (or perhaps that was just him squinting since his glasses were still off) and Livia couldn't help but find the expression mildly adorable. _Awww... he's trying to intimidate me. How cute._ With a smug smile, she offered a hand like she wanted to help him up, knowing full well what Kyoya was planning as revenge.

And sure enough, as soon as her fingertips brushed at Kyoya's palm, both of his hands shot forward and grabbed her wrist, tugging her forward so she tumbled into the pool, her right side hitting the water first. With practiced ease, she flipped herself around and reemerged. Kyoya looked so damn proud of himself, running a hand through his hair to squeeze out the water between his fingers. Though he paused when she merely swam forward, swiping a hand across her forehead.

She noticed his staring, "What?"

"I had expected for you to be more upset at my throwing you into the pool."

The girl shrugged, resting her forearms on the edge, "I expected you to. And besides, this makes us even, so I don't have to worry about you enacting some sort of revenge later on." Her eyes drifted past Kyoya's face and at the ceiling. The assassin hadn't reappeared. That was to be expected, too. His attempt to kill her charge was borderline cliche. A Test. But Livia had revealed that her charge had a protector. Her.

That could make things a little more complicated.

"Well, it looks like we're about to have some company."

At Kyoya's bland comment, the brunette turned around to watch as the host club swam towards them. Even Haruhi was in the water, though it looked more like she had looped her arms around Mori's neck and he was dragging her along.

Smiling innocently up at her charge, Livia tilted her head, "Well, it looks like we're all getting in the water, then."

"Li-"

She only smirked at Kyoya's furious expression just before he was yanked back into the water for a second time.

* * *

Okay. I've managed to sneak into the bathroom for a moment. We've been at this water park for about an hour, and now I'm pretty confident that our assassin isn't coming back today. So... I think I'm gonna end the log here for today. Though school next week should be interesting.

To quote one of my favorite characters of all time: "The Game is On!"

End log.

* * *

 **I'm so sorry this was late! *Rotten tomatoes explode at feet* WOAH! Geez, I said I was sorry! I've just been so busy lately! But it's done now! And look! Stakes! Someone tried to shoot Kyoya in the head! The story's moving on! And I don't think they ever mentioned what the two older Ootori boys decided to do once Kyoya upstaged them, so I'm making up their futures as I go, too.**

 **Oh, and for those of who you get the '10 years are up' reference, you get a cookie, my friends!**

 **If you liked, please favorite, follow, and leave a review! Review's make me smile!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	9. Log 8

**I'm so sorry for never keeping up with this story! As an apology, this chapter is going to start delving a little bit into the whole 'relationship' thing. But... maybe not in the way you probably expected. Hope you like it anyways!**

 **Thank you to Momochan77, queenglitch, Shantesa, and Ms. Spirit for your reviews!**

 **Disclaimer: Livia is mine. That's it, though.**

* * *

 _ **GaijinPot Complex in Bunkyo-ku**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Apartment Room 204**_

 _ **1927 hours**_

* * *

I… I just can-fucking- _not_ right now.

For y'all back at the base who are going to have to make that stupid written document of today, I'm so sorry, but I just… can _not_ give out the details right now. You're gonna have to make the best of what the recorder picked up.

I'm taking some goddamn Tylenol and going to bed.

* * *

"Mornin' Haruhi."

"Good morning!"

Livia's smile wavered at the light tone in Haruhi's voice. Her neighbor was _never_ this cheerful in the mornings. She looked over at the girl on her left, noting the small quirk in her lips and crinkles around the corner of her eyes. The 2nd year sighed and cut the shorter girl off, making them come to a stop in the middle of the hallway.

"Out with it. What's going on?"

The girl shrugged, "Nothing. What makes you think something's going on?"

"You're acting super cheerful."

"Nothing's going on, I'm just in a good mood!" Haruhi smiled and walked around her friend, swiftly disappearing into the crowd.

"Huh."

Livia stared after the girl for a moment, then continued on her way to her own classroom. Hopefully Haruhi would be the only host acting weird today.

She got all the way to the doorway when her wish was denied.

"Liv-chan!" Honey ran over and hugged the girl around her middle.

"Uh, hey. Honey-senpai…" the brunette pretended to have a hard time removing the small boy, "What's… with the hug? Isn't your class on the other end of the school?"

The small blond giggled, "Yup!"

"So…" Livia paused as Mori-senpai walked up behind his cousin, giving her a small smile before his hand went up to lightly pat her on the head. Her eyebrows shot upwards before she turned around and marched towards her classroom. Behind her, she could hear the smaller third-year giggling with his cousin, but she kept herself facing forward.

 _What the hell is going on?_

Finally making it to her classroom, she power walked to her seat and flopped down. Only then did she realize her charge and his friend were in the room as well. Livia shook her head, muttering to herself.

" _Get it together. You can't afford to be distracted right now._ "

"Livia! You're here!"

Straightening up in her chair, the brunette stared, unamused, at the blond in front of her, "Aren't I always here? This is my classroom, right?"

Tamaki only smiled wider at the sarcasm, and Livia couldn't help but notice that his left hand was locked around Kyoya's upper arm. Apparently he had dragged his best friend along with him to speak with her. She raised an eyebrow and looked between the two. Tamaki was grinning at her in a way that was weird... even for him. And Kyoya was trying to shake his friend's hand off his arm.

"So... what's up?"

The blond didn't respond, merely tightening his grip on Kyoya's arm while the other boy continued to struggle.

Sighing in defeat, Kyoya spared Livia a glance, "It would seem as though Tamaki decided we would both greet you this morning... whether or not I wished to do so."

 _So… the only person in the host club not acting weird is Kyoya... even if he's being oddly hostile._ Livia had a feeling the twins would've also been acting odd if she had run into them today, so she didn't bother giving them the benefit of the doubt. But even so, it didn't look like Kyoya was any less confused by Tamaki's behavior than she was.

"Right. Is there a reason for that?"

"Nope!" Tamaki chirped, "None at all!" He released the glasses-wearing boy and went back to his seat, ignoring the deathly glare he was receiving as he walked.

"Do you have any idea what that was about?"

"You're asking me? He's your friend."

Kyoya grimaced, "Don't remind me." He looked down at the girl and raised an eyebrow, "And don't think I've forgotten how you pushed me into the pool against my will last Saturday."

"I haven't either," Livia smirked and looked down at her desk, pretending to straighten her notebook, "It was too funny to forget so soon. And don't act like you didn't have fun that day." _And in turn I won't forget how you almost died while under my protection._

The boy scoffed and walked away, unaware that the girl he was turning his back on was watching him move across the room. No matter how many times she did this, or how many people she saved, it always baffled her to see her charges go about their daily lives as if there wasn't someone out there who wanted their hearts to stop beating. If Livia were in their shoes, with no training and no knowledge on how to stay safe, she'd be terrified out of her wits. And probably do something stupid that would get her killed.

Which is why it had to remain a secret. As annoying and tedious Kyoya was, Livia didn't want him to get hurt. It was also a part of her job description, but that's beside the point.

"Ex _cuse_ me."

Kyoya was suddenly blocked from her line of sight, replaced instead with a swatch of ugly yellow. Livia's eyebrows lifted before she glanced up at the face of her new conversation partner. She didn't know the girl's name, but she did recognized her. She sat in the second row on the other side of the room, recognizable -to only Livia, of course- by her black hair that was styled into a 'too perfect to be natural' bun on the back of her head, the winged eyeliner that had the tell-tale signs of having been done by another person, and... oh.

Livia almost giggled.

"Hello."

The girl smiled, but it was clear she wasn't doing it to be nice. The smile seemed to say, 'Look how perfect I am! So much better than you!'

 _Well, this isn't off to a good start._

"So... Trasic-san, was it?" The girl walked a little closer, putting her hands on Livia's desk, palms down, "What, ah... what were you and Kyoya talking about just now?"

Livia cranked her left eyebrow up to its maximum height. Her eyes went to the hands on her desk.

Up to the girl's face.

Back down.

Up.

Once more.

The girl removed her hands and Livia finally leaned back in her chair, reveling in the point chalked up into her invisible column, "Nothing important. Just something that occurred on Saturday." She thought it over, "That we spent together." Another moment, "With the rest of the Host Club."

The girl was still smiling, thought it was clearly forced, "Is that so?"

"It is."

The two stared at each other. One trying to intimidate the other, and said other actually succeeding in it.

"Good." The unnamed girl giggled coyly and pretended to straighten out her already perfect hair, "I was worried you were talking about pairing up for the science project Chikamatsu-sensei is announcing today. It's supposed to be a Co-Ed project, and Kyoya and I are _always_ partners. I didn't need someone he feels sorry for trying to make him feel guilty over something he has no control over. I'm just worth more to him and his family."

She smiled with her eyes closed, "I'm so glad you're not one of _those_ girls who tries to _force_ yourself on people who don't want you around. But I guess I should've figured that out earlier. After all, you _are_ here instead of in America with your parents. They're the ones who decided to ship you to the other side of the world by yourself, right?"

Now, there are a great number of insults Livia Trasic could handle. Snobbish comments on her hair, make-up, clothes... big whup. Being called out for her sailor mouth... usually met with a middle finger. Say something about the LGBTQ community, including her best friend, half of her non-related family, and her as-good-as adoptive parents? She'd flat out attack the person with so much political and social and science-backed information the bigot's head would spin, especially after a good punch or two tacked to the end.

But having a go at her parents?

That was a declaration for war. And Livia did _not_ pull punches.

Her smile curled, showing teeth that were tightly clenched and making her eyes glint murderously, "Listen... I can't be bothered to learn your name, but even pushing aside how insignificant I find you I'm going to let you off with a warning anyways. Don't you ever speak to me, or about me, or my parents ever again, or I _will_ expose you for your... ah... _Co-Ed partner work_ that you took care of before class started."

The ravenette went beet red, a hand coming up to the corner of her mouth before abruptly dropping to her side, "You... I don't know what you're talking about. This is just another grab for attention. Trying to cover up your... self-harming tendencies? I've heard it's _rampant_ where you're from. Like a disease. Which makes you a carrier, I suppose."

Livia smirked and leaned closer, "Honey, if I did want to kill myself, I wouldn't need much to do so. I'd just have to jump from your ego to your IQ."

The clock tower rung out before the girl could recover from the insult, leaving her no choice but to take it in silence and walk back to her seat. Which she took one step towards before realizing that the rest of the class was staring at her and Livia. A few had their hands to their mouths, and a great number looked amused or even pleased. The ravenette shot the most venomous glare she could at her newest classmate, who wasn't even paying any attention to her any longer, before hurrying off to her seat.

" _Holy Cow!_ " Livia looked up, unsurprised to see Kuriko staring at her with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"What?"

"I didn't know you had that in you! Calling out Kahae Ania in the middle of class! I mean, more than half of us have wanted to do it, but we didn't know how, so we just ignored her!"

Livia raised both of her eyebrows, "Is there a story?"

Kuriko looked around the room before leaning in, " _She's the second daughter of a top-line technological manufacture. They used to specialize in medical machines and had tight dealings with the Ootori Group, and since the teachers here tend to partner up the children of families who work closely with each other, that meant she and Kyoya got partnered up with a lot. But a few years ago... there was a big falling out between the two families. Turns out, the Kahae family had started manufacturing their machines specifically so they'd break down after only half of their useful life with no hope of repair, forcing the Ootori Group to keep buying them and spending more money than they needed to. Ootori-san figured it out when someone came in to check on yet_ another _broken machine and said they didn't have these problems with the machines the Kahae family was selling to the Ootori's Group's_ top rival company. _There was this huge legal battle that ended up costing the Kahae family more than half their net worth and their brand's market value. They've been skimming the border of bankruptcy ever since! But Ania-san likes to pretend she wasn't affected. Don't worry about it, Trasic-san, the teachers don't pair her and Kyoya up any more for class projects. And it looks like your admirer was impressed by your sharp tongue._ "

Just as she started giggling, Chikamatsu-sensei walked in through the classroom doors and everyone settled down. Livia, however, remained unfocused as the school day started. _Right, let's test that likelihood. Clearly there's bad blood. Kyoya's family forced Ania's into shame and near bankruptcy, not to mention spoiling their family name. But, I don't remember hearing about this when I was watching Yuuichi, so it happened between the two cases. If these are the same people as last time, then the Kahae family has nothing to do with it. Also, if they're skirting bankruptcy, would they be able to afford an assassin? Monetarily or socially? If everyone knows of the falling out, then wouldn't the police look at their money trail first? They were already discovered once, would they risk it again? For_ murder? _Not really likely... but I should look into their family... Especially if they can still afford to put their daughter though this school._

"Alright everyone, I know you're excited for this project, so I won't bore you anymore. But to keep you in suspense," their teacher winked before continuing, "I'm going to partner you all up before explaining the project."

Livia hummed as the class let out mixed reactions. Some were fake groans, and some were excited whispers. Sometimes it weirded Livia out that her first teacher of the day, her science teacher of all things, was so cheerful. But on the other hand, it was clear that Chikamatsu-sensei was pretty much adored by his students, so she decided it wasn't all bad.

The man at the front of the room hummed a brief tune as he opened his suitcase and pulled out a clipboard, "Right. Could you all stand up, please? As I read off your names, please move to sit in the seats I'm about to assign so you and your partners are next to each other." As the classroom broke out into groans and complaints, the man raised his hands, "I know, I know you all prefer to sit in your own seats, but this is important to the project. It is going to span across _two_ of your classes, including this one, and will be going on for approximately 21 days. It will require outside work from both partners, and plenty of scheduling between the both of you. Once the project is over, you will be free to move back to your own seating arrangement."

More complaints, but Chikamatsu-sensei raised his hands a little higher and everyone quieted down. "Let's see... Godo Mikio."

The boy on Livia's right slowly picked up his school bag and walked to the front, taking the seat right next to the door.

"Joshuya Eri."

A brown-haired girl sitting a few seats in front of Livia, already in the front row, grabbed her things and hurried over to the desk now on Godo-san's left. The two smiled at each other before taking their seats. Chikamatsu-sensei called out another boy, then another girl, and then-

"Suoh Tamaki."

There was a great deal of murmuring and giggles as the blond leisurely walked up to his new seat, smiling at the girls he passed by. In her head, Livia tried to figure out who would sit by him for this project. As the current heir to the Suoh Group... his stance was pretty wide.

"Anami Kuriko."

Oh, well that's not a big surprise. The Suoh's are developers, after all, and the Anami's are high profile land retailers. Livia's eyebrows pushed together slightly as her teacher continued to read off the list of students in his hands. For some reason... she'd been relieved when Kuriko's name had been called. Was it because she knew her old desk neighbor was respectful and even supportive of Tamaki and Haruhi's relationship, and wouldn't try anything?

 _No, that can't be it. I may be allowed to be 'friendly' towards the hosts and Haruhi to stay near Kyoya, but actually becoming friends is a little-_

"Ootori Kyoya."

At the sound of her charge's name, Livia came back to the present. Kyoya calmly took the seat right behind Tamaki, and the girl watching couldn't help but wonder if that had been on purpose too. Even so, who would his partner be?

 _Wait... '_ _the teachers here tend to partner up the children of families who work closely with each other'... oh no._

"Trasic Livia."

There were audible gasps as everyone in the room looked around at her. So... most of them hadn't known that Livia's fake family was a business partner to the Ootori's? Won't the rumors fly now...

She scooped up her book bag and walked up the row. She was only moving three seats up, and would once again be seated behind Kuriko... and to the left of Kyoya. _At least I kept my window seat._

Sitting back down, ignoring the whispers and death glare from Ania, Livia quickly unpacked her things yet again. Kuriko turned around with a smile, and so did Tamaki, but Kyoya remained facing forward. If anything, he looked like someone had just dumped a dripping garbage bag onto his desk and told him to sift through it.

"What's up with you?"

"Oh, nothing. This is simply one of my more favored classes and I'm stuck with the novice as my partner."

Livia blinked, looking at the boy with clear disbelief, "You're joking, right?"

"Kyoya! Don't be rude!"

The ravenet huffed and leaned back in his seat, "I'm not being rude, Tamaki. Miss Trasic and I have reached an understanding with each other. So long as I do not project fake emotions towards her, even at the expense of keeping a perminantly pleasant attitude, she will do the same and we will not damage our business relations."

The brunette blinked, "You're still salty about the pool incident, aren't you?"

He didn't respond, but that was good enough for her.

 _Please, if there is a God, please let this project only have the barest of necessary contact between the partners? Please?_

* * *

"Are you kidding me?" Livia complained a few hours later, walking along the hallway as Kuriko tried to follow her. For some reason, a few days ago her desk neighbor had taken up following her to lunch so they could eat together. Often joined by Haruhi, and therefore the rest of the host club. At least Kuriko got along with everyone, and she didn't do it often. It would seem like this was just going to be one of those days.

"Livia, it may not be so bad..."

"We have to hatch a chicken egg, Kuriko. This is a combination of a biology project and that stupid 'fake-baby' thing from back in the American schools. And we have to spend an hour together every day! What the heck are we supposed to talk about? Business? Whether the egg is white or more grey-ish? And why _Kyoya?_ Really?"

Kuriko frowned a little, "I have to admit... with the way he was talking about doing this project with you... I'm starting to wonder if he doesn't actually like you... like you told me."

"Of course he doesn't! And-"

"OUCH!"

Like she'd just gotten a shot of adrenaline, Livia took off down the hallway at the sound of Kyoya's shout. Sliding around the corner, she came face to face with an empty hallway. Running along the tiles, she faintly heard a pounding from the other side of a door on the right, like someone was trying to get out. She came to a stop outside of one of them, where the shouting was the loudest. The sign above the door read 'Maintenance closet', and Kyoya's angry shouts were coming from inside.

"Kyoya? Hold on!" Grabbing the door handle, Livia turned it to the left and pushed it open.

She heard the faint sound of shoes moving fast on tile floor right before Kuriko shouted, "LOOK OUT!"

Twisting and ducking at the same time, two sets of arms went sailing over her head. The brunette somersaulted between the attackers and came up on her feet. Spinning around... she saw shock and awe etched upon Kuriko's, Kyoya's, and the Hitachiin twins' faces.

 _Oops._

"Livia-senpai..."

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Um..." Outwardly reeling in her panic, the girl instead pulled up her go-to excuse for when her instincts kicked in in front of the wrong people. Adopting an embarrassed, slightly upset, and nervous expression, she dropped her stance and shuffled her feet, "No place."

"Livia?"

Eyes flickering to Kuriko, she purposefully licked her lips, "Um... it's an American thing?"

Kyoya shuffled out of the closet, staring at her in interest.

She squirmed a bit, "Alright, fine. I don't have bodyguards. Too... expensive. Or whatever. But being in America... New York of all places, and being known for having a lot of money with no guards and no personal car... I just took a few martial arts classes. Saved up quite a bit of allowance for them, too. Sorry if I freaked you out."

"Freak _us_ out?"

"That was _awesome_ Livia-senpai!"

"Can you teach us a few moves?"

As the twins began to bombard the brunette with pleas and questions, but Livia only had eyes for her charge. Who was still staring at her.

She tried not to read into the look he was giving her, but after being trained for years to be able to do that, it was hard to shut the habit down. Kyoya looked honestly surprised, and yet their was a hint of... was that sadness. Yeah. It could almost be mistaken for pity, but it wasn't that either. He was feeling... empathy? Because of her sob story? Was that possible?

Quickly looking away, Livia started shutting the twins down. If Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai both refused to teach them, then she probably shouldn't either. But even as she started hustling everyone in their newfound group down the hallway, it was hard to ignore how Kyoya was still staring at the back of her head.

This wasn't good. Despite his sass and ability to shove all of her buttons down at once, it was clear that there was _something_ else brewing within the youngest Ootori boy. Because if Livia was right, and she normally was...

Then he was beginning to fall... for someone who didn't exist.

* * *

"Okay, Haruhi, come clean. _What_ has gotten into all of you? I've put up with your smiling and whispering all day, and my day hasn't been the greatest so I want some answers."

"Well, someone's got a short temper today."

"Don't _test_ me, Fujioka."

The smaller brunette shrugged, like that would once again get her out of having to answer and tried to stand up, but Livia got there first. Placing one hand on Haruhi's shoulder, keeping her on the couch cushion, the two girls found themselves locked in a staring contest.

At first, Haruhi attempts to keep a blank face. Livia had dropped it earlier, so why not now?

Except she kept staring.

And staring.

Haruhi swallowed, growing a little uncomfortable. It was written all over her face and in the way she shifted her shoulders, trying to shimmy the taller brunette's hand off. Livia didn't budge, her green eyes appearing to dig straight into the other girl.

Haruhi swallowed one last time before dropping her head, "Fine."

Livia stepped back and crossed her arms, "Out with it."

"Last Saturday... when we were at the Aqua Garden."

"I recall."

The shorter girl looked a little embarrassed, which Livia found odd, but she didn't comment on it, "Look, I thought it was a kind of stupid idea before then, really. You just didn't... but Tamaki had this idea in his head and he somehow got the twins to agree and after Saturday..." She looked up and then back down, "Kyoya-senpai's never been playful. Or at least not in the way he was over the weekend with us."

Livia blinked. _Oh no. Oh no no no no..._

"Haruhi, please tell me you don't-"

"-think you and Kyoya-senpai belong together?"

The brunette looked over at the twins, who were grinning like they'd just won the PowerBall lottery.

"Oh, but we do~"

 _Fuck_.

Seeing the vaguely horrified look on the newest host's face, the twins started nervously stepping backwards, "Now, now, Livia-senpai..."

"... everyone else at the club is in agreement."

"So please don't bust out your martial arts on anyone in particular."

Livia didn't move at all... at first. But her eyes did. They zipped from one host to another, all across the room. Honey was giggling happily, and his cousin's usually blank face was actually sporting a somewhat interested smile. Tamaki was nodding solemnly in her direction, like they were sharing a secret and he was encouraging her to be truthful. The twins were still grinning, despite their nervousness at knowing (part) of her skills. Haruhi was out of her line of sight, but Kyoya... he was doing the same thing she was.

Except he looked a _lot_ angrier.

"Wait a minute," the American managed to recollect herself, stiffly bringing her hands up into a 'time out' gesture, "Are you telling me that _all_ of you believe in this-"

She cut herself off.

 _Heiresses don't swear._

Livia fixed her best 'don't cross me if you know what's good for you' glare on each and every member of the host club. She was pleased to discover it still worked, making each of them look down at their toes after a few seconds in it's heat. All except for her two idiot classmates.

Tamaki laughed lightly, "Well... we all saw it. Kyoya's never smiled like that before... or played in the water... or really do anything other than provide the occasional quip or bit of advice. He's not a real hands-on kind of person." The blond smiled at his friend, "No offense."

Kyoya didn't seem to care whether Tamaki meant offense or not, too busy doling out his own, personalized 'Glare-of-Death'. As glares went, Livia had to give it a solid 'Seven' on her own scale of evil. She could only imagine how terrifying it was to the boys-

"Awww... look at them!"

"They even have the same scary glares!"

The red heads pretended to coo and fawn over how adorable the two were as a couple, making Kyoya's glare jump up another number before Livia's eyes. Despite how this whole situation was becoming the textbook version of a 'Clusterfuck', the American couldn't help but... admire the twin's nerve. Seriously, in their world, they were staring Death in the face, and yet they continued to laugh at his expense. On an off tangent... Livia couldn't help but wonder if it was a certain... relative of theirs that was the cause of their fearlessness.

"What do you think their ship name should be, Hikaru?"

"I think we should do that thing with one half of their names smushed together."

"LivKyo?"

"LIVKYO!"

Livia blinked, "LivKyo? Really?"

"Don't encourage them!"

"I'm not encouraging them. In fact, I feel like I could spit fire. I just think the name is pretty accurate. LivKyo makes you sound like the submissive you are."

Livia made a small mental note to request a snapshot of Kyoya's face at that exact moment from her security cameras. But she didn't bother to stay. Instead, she spun around with her hands up in the air. Contract be damned, she was _not_ staying after school with these people!

"I'm taking the afternoon off! Good day!"

"Livia-"

"I said 'Good _day_ '!"

* * *

 _End. Log._

* * *

 **Well? What'd you think?**

 **If you liked, please favorite, follow, and review!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	10. Log 9

**How is everyone? Good? Busy? I know I've been. My temp job just finished up, but now I have a spring semester looming in front of me. *Hunger Games whistle***

 **Um, I decided on another jump, so here's the second Saturday update. Livia has now been in Bunkyo for two weeks, and she's already getting sick of it.**

 **Thank you to queenglitch, Momochan77, and Ms. Spirit for your reviews on my last chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I only own Livia.**

* * *

 _ **GaijinPot Complex in Bunkyo-ku**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Apartment Room 204**_

 _ **0743 hours**_

* * *

I'm retiring.

Yeah, you heard me.

I. Am. Retiring.

Fair warning: there is absolutely no way you're going to talk me out of this. After this job I am _done._ I do not get paid enough for this. I will _break_ my own legs before I get sent out to protect another fuckwad like Kyoya Ootori!

 _Inhale_

 _Exhale_

Well, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I want you to know that I was being completely serious.

No, don't laugh. This week has been rough with a capital 'R'. First of all, I haven't spoken more than a few words to my charge since Monday. He's taken to becoming oddly deaf whenever someone tries to talk to him about me. When they try to ask me about it I just glare at them until they go away.

Thank goodness no one has tried to kill him these past couple days, because I haven't been on top of my game to be honest. I know, I know, and I'm going to stop with that, but it probably won't be easy. Whenever I'm watching the monitors and he's on screen, I can't watch for too long before I suddenly wish for the power to reach through the screen and slap him across the face myself.

You probably thought after my last log that, since we're being forced to work on that school project with the egg together, I've had an easier time of keeping him close and safe, right?

Wrong.

It's the one thing we've actually talked about and agreed on. The incubator and egg are currently settled in one corner of my living room, because neither of us really wanted to explain to Kyoya's father why he had an egg in his room. But at the same time, he's never come over to the apartment. We've basically been documenting lies about how we're both taking care of the little guy. I write about the egg, and he writes what business we talked about when we were together.

I don't think anyone's suspected anything, yet. Tamaki still believes we see each other after school, even if we don't talk to each other _in_ school.

The only person I can see throwing a wrench into the plan would be Ania Kahae, and that's only if she takes to stalking and finds out Kyoya never sets foot into my apartment.

Yeah, that bitch is still kicking. After all that talk about not making a fuss about the partner assignments, she went up to the Dean and tried to insist that her family had a more important tie to Kyoya's than mine. And, okay, _yes_ , my famous family is fake, but the Dean didn't know that. And now Kahae doesn't either. Except that doesn't really matter to her. I've started receiving little notes on my desk that explain, in detail, what will happen to my family name should I not step back from Kyoya.

They're pretty funny. I've got three of them taped to my wall right now, ready for whenever I need my spirits lifted. Maybe I'll have a nice mosaic by the time I leave?

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I've already looked into the Ania family. Threat level? I'd say maybe a 2? At least 1.7… maybe. Basically, I'm not about to stake out their home anytime soon. From what I've seen, Mr. Ania has really mellowed out since his public embarrassment and now he's just trying to fix the dumpster fire that is his business's integrity. Kahae just has feelings for Kyoya, despite how they're definitely not reciprocated, and sees me as some sort of threat.

It would be just as funny as the notes if the thought didn't make me sick to my stomach.

* * *

 _Bam-bam-bam-bam!_

The brunet looked away from her bed's pillows, slowly uncrossing her legs as her door is knocked on again.

"Oh, please no."

"Livia-senpai!"

"No."

"Please come out and play, Liv-chan!"

"Fucking-" the girl grumbled to herself as she stood up from the end of her bed. Dressed in a pair of black pants and her favorite 'WWMD?' t-shirt, she unhurriedly walked through the apartment, clipping her recorder to the base of her messy bun. In the back of her mind, she wondered exactly what the hosts would do if she never answered. Or if she wasn't home. Would they try to break in? Would they just wait around until she finally showed up? It was hard to tell with them…

Opening the door, she leaned against the frame with as much sass as possible and asked, "What do you want?"

Honey was the one who responded, bouncing forward to hug at her legs, "We wanted to spend the weekend with you again! We had so much fun last week!"

"Fun, huh?" Her green eyes coldly regarded the rest of the group, but they didn't seem to care. In fact, the twins started pushing past her in an attempt to walk into her apartment, which she stopped by grabbing onto their collars.

"Exactly what do you think you're doing?"

"Checking your place out. It's a lot emptier than we expected."

"What's going on with your shirt, though?"

The redheads frowned as they read the English words, "What Would Morticia Do?"

"It's from a movie series I liked. But the fact remains that I don't want you in my house. Now, or ever again. Please leave."

The small blond still around her lower half happily giggled, "Only if you'll come with us!"

"Come on, Livia!" Tamaki grabbed the twins from her and pulled them away, "You're already dressed this time, and we've got such a fun day planned out! Haruhi decided on it!"

Despite every bone in her body that told her she would regret this, Livia couldn't help but rationalize why she should go out. First of all, if they were going to go out somewhere without cameras again, it would definitely be best for her to be around Kyoya. And since they currently despise each other, then the only way that would happen would be if they hung out with the host club at the same time.

"Let me check on the egg. You know, for the _partner_ project I have?" Leveling one unimpressed look at the glasses wearing boy who had yet to even look in her direction, she slipped back into her apartment and shut the door.

* * *

Well, Haruhi picked out today's activities… so how bad can it be?

Right?

 _Sigh._

I should probably redo my hair. No reason to have it look like a rat's nest while I'm in public.

* * *

"So why are we going downtown today?"

The group of eight was ambling down the sidewalk that lead into town, happily chatting with each other about what Haruhi might have in store for them. Said 'guide' had chosen to walk beside Livia today in the front of the group, despite the insistent whines coming from her boyfriend.

Haruhi shrugged, "The boys tried to convince Kyoya to let us go back to the water park again, but he refused. To be honest, I was glad. I'm not a big fan of that place. But, I figured that if we were taking you along, you'd like something a little less… extravagant."

"Thanks." Livia managed a small smile before looking straight forward again, watching as the shops started coming into view. She tugged her wool coat a little closer to her body.

Since Japan's weather rarely dropped below freezing temperatures, even in the coldest months, this was nowhere near what Livia had grown up with, but it was still a little chilly. It was almost 12 degrees celsius -which was around 50 degrees fahrenheit for Livia, being an American- so it wasn't _cold_ but it certainly wasn't _warm_ either. She was grateful for the coat, at least.

 _What am I doing?_ She asked herself. _I'm supposed to be keeping them at an arm's length, but it seems like whenever I push at them, it makes them cling tighter._

By the time they reach the first shops, Livia's head was still muddled. None of the others noticed her internal crisis, busy pointing out the different shops and asking what they were.

"Haru-chan, why is that one closed?"

"It's the ice cream parlor. It probably won't open again until springtime."

"What's that place?"

"Electronics store."

"What's that?"

"A dumpster."

On and on it went. Haruhi insisted that they all get some tea first before exploring. Livia didn't speak, her eyes roving around the street and sidewalks. No suspicious looking characters just yet. Unless you counted the man trying to sneak away from the alcohol shop with a look so guilty the brunette almost wanted to give him a hug.

They kept walking.

Finally, Haruhi lead them into a tiny little shop. They all ordered a cup of tea before venturing outdoors to drink at one of the tables, since the inside of the shop was packed. Livia sipped at her jasmine tea, humming softly at the warm liquid heating up her insides. Around her, everyone else was talking excitedly about the different shops they had passed that they wanted to see again, or asking Haruhi if she had any ideas for the first stop.

Everyone was excited... except for the boy on her right.

Kyoya was just as silent as she was, drinking his tea like it was only him at the table and there wasn't a frosty silence between him and the girl. Livia wasn't blind to the suggestive looks they were getting from his friends, either. It had definitely not been a coincidence that the other six rushed the table until there were only two seats left for her and Kyoya. Right next to each other.

The trend continued for a good, long while, until almost everyone was finished with their hot drinks. Finally, Haruhi sighed and set her cup down.

"Livia-senpai? Kyoya-senpai?"

The two looked up at the girl, whose expression was somewhere between embarrassed and apologetic.

"There's another reason I agreed to this outing. I wanted to apologize." Everyone at the table stared at her in shock as she continued, "I had no right to assume or tease you about knowing each other, especially when it made the two of you uncomfortable. Even though I'm aware it's not really my fault, I still feel kind of responsible for how you two are refusing to talk or work together now."

Okay, it was official, Livia liked Haruhi more than anyone else in the Ouran High School Host Club. The American was touched that Haruhi was willing to apologize for just having a bit of fun.

Then she impressed Livia just a little bit more by turning to the other five boys sitting around them and glaring.

"Oh, right!" Tamaki rubbed at the back of his head, "We're sorry, too."

" _We are?_ " Hikaru was elbowed harshly by his brother before straightening up, "I mean, yeah, we are."

"It wasn't fair of us to assume that."

"We're sorry, Liv-chan and Kyo-chan! Please be friends again?"

Livia's green eyes looked over at the boy on her right. He met her gaze and she knew what he was thinking. They weren't going to be friends. But they could fake it a little for the club.

 _Pfft. And he thinks they're not really his friends._

"Okay... maybe we were being a little harsh."

"Agreed." Kyoya gave her a smile so fake and plastic it belonged on a Ken doll, "Truce?"

She fake laughed and held out a hand for him to shake, "Truce."

The grip was too loose to be genuine, but it seemed to convince the others. They smiled and quickly went back to their conversation. Since everyone was about done, Tamaki stood up.

"Alright, men... and ladies, our first stop will be the-"

" _RRRRROWF!_ "

The following five seconds were a blur. As one, everyone at the table jumped out of their seats, their eyes quickly locating the huge Tosa Inu running towards them from down the street. Livia realized from it's body language and loud barks and growls that it was _not_ a friendly pooch. A few other people in the market screamed and backtracked, but the dog paid them no mind.

It's eyes were set on the host club.

"SCATTER!" Livia screamed before grabbing Kyoya's jacket and taking off. The others went in different directions. Haruhi, Tamaki, and the twins all bolted back into the tea shop right before the owner locked the door. Honey and Mori bolted across the street, helping an older couple indoors on their way. The dog paid them no mind, and almost too late Livia realized exactly who it was going for.

Kyoya stopped when they were a block away. Livia almost shouted at him that they needed to keep moving when she saw why. He was staring wide eyed at the animal as it lunged at the table they had been sitting at only a few moments ago, ripping up the cushion Kyoya had been sitting on. The two watching as the dog ripped the cushion in half before it stopped, straightening up and staring directly at Kyoya, its nose wiggling.

He jumped when Livia grabbed his arm.

"Kyoya! Move!"

They ran again, the Tosa Inu giving chase.

Livia's mind raced. _What do I do? What do I do? It's a hit, I know it. A trained attack dog with Kyoya's scent! Options, options, I could shoot it but then my cover is blown. Most shops are already locked up, and we'd lose valuable time trying to barter our way in. Not enough time to climb up something._

Just then, like a miracle, a limousine suddenly screeched into view with a certain hood ornament that couldn't be mistaken.

"Choshi!"

Kyoya's driver spun the car around so the back door was facing the running teenagers. Livia refused to look behind her, and kept a hard grip on Kyoya's arm so he wouldn't do it either. And yet, she could hear the dog's barking growing louder.

Surging forward, she grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, jumping in and pulling the boy behind her. Kyoya managed to have enough sense to turn and shut the door. The dog slammed into the side of the car not three seconds later.

Sprawled out on the floor of the limo, Kyoya looked towards the front and almost shouted, "Choshi, drive! We need to get it away from the shops!"

Livia spared Kyoya a look of surprise before the car lurched forward, taking off down the street with the dog in pursuit. She rolled with the motion and ended up on her knees, quickly crawling up onto the seat and staring out the back window. The dog was still following, but it was falling further and further behind. Not good.

"Choshi! Slow down a little or we'll lose it!"

"Miss? Are you sure?"

"Do as she says, Choshi!" Kyoya had his phone out and was dialing the number for the police, "If the dog loses interest in my scent he might go back for the other hosts or someone else! Slow down!" He pulled the device up to his ear and started talking to whoever was on the other end, oblivious to how Livia was once against staring at him in surprise.

"Miss? How we looking?"

Livia looked back out the window, "Better! Keep us as this speed for a while!"

That's how it went for a few minutes. Though, if you asked the people in the limo, it felt like hours before the police showed up. Livia and Choshi attempted to keep the dog on their tail while Kyoya kept giving the police directions to where they were. He hid it well, but Livia could tell that the boy was a little shaken up. It didn't surprise her. Being cool and collected didn't save you from being scared when someone or something attacks you.

When the police showed up, Choshi stopped the car. Immediately, the dog jumped on the back trunk of the limo, barking and clawing at the window. Livia was pulled off the seat, finding herself in Kyoya's arms as he moved them towards the front of the limo. She thought that was extremely backwards given the situation, but didn't say anything. If anything, she was a little touched that he was worried about her.

Thankfully, the animal was captured before it could break the glass. The teens watched as it was packed away into a metal cage inside one of the vehicles before hesitantly climbing out. The authorities offered to check them over for things like shock, but they waved them off. They just watched as the car with the dog inside of it drove off, both of them swearing they could still faintly hear angry barking.

"What was _that_ about?"

Livia took a deep breath and let out a sigh, "I'm... I don't know. Maybe... an escaped fighting dog? Who knows."

Kyoya frowned, looking at the girl, "Livia... I know this might sound crazy but, I could almost swear..." He looked in the direction the car had driven in, "Did it seem like the dog was going after me?"

"It caught your scent at the table. Makes sense."

"Why me?"

"Maybe it just didn't like your face."

The boy frowned, but didn't respond. Livia sighed again and placed a hand on his upper arm, "I'm sorry. Jokes are probably not really appropriate at this time." He didn't respond, so she continued, "How about you call the host club and tell them we're all right. I'm sure they're worried."

Kyoya nodded, his eyes still trailing after the retreating car.

Livia watched as he went back towards the limo, putting his phone against his ear. She frowned, and started looking around. In an effort to keep the dog and the limo away from busy streets, they had gone around the same section of downtown for quite some time. As of this moment, she was standing about two blocks over from the street they had started walking on. The same direction the dog had come from.

It was unlikely she'd find anything exactly where she'd ended up, but decided she should look anyways.

Slowly walking after Kyoya, Livia looked up at some of the buildings. Most were closed for the winter or didn't open until the afternoon, so it was pretty empty. Between each building, there would be a small alleyway that connected the many streets with little walkways.

She stopped, spotting something.

"Livia? We should head back to the others. I think we're going to call this a day."

"Hold on a minute."

Frowning, she crouched down. There was a small chip of glass lying on the ground. Invisible to the untrained eye, but to Livia, it was like a lighthouse beacon. Not really believing her luck at actually finding not only the place the dog had been set loose but also finding evidence _immediately,_ the girl carefully picked up the shard. It looked like it came from some fancy glass case for something. It was quite possible that the dog had pulled away from his handler too soon, causing the person to drop whatever they were holding and break the glass bottle. This particular piece had fallen against the corner of the ground and the wall, causing the killers to miss it.

A bad idea struck and she cautiously sniffed it.

 _Oh._

It was from a cologne bottle.

The same kind Kyoya used.

 _Oh, fuck._

If the guys knew what kind of _cologne_ Kyoya used, they were close. Or had people who were close. That wasn't a good sign. Ever.

"Livia? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Coming, Kyoya."

* * *

Jesus Christ.

Okay, okay, trying to wrap this up into a little box.

So... assassins either know Kyoya on a personal level, know someone who does, or they're tricking someone who does, or they're a business partner. Either way, they know his cologne. That's close.

On top of that, they've chosen a way of attack that gave me two choices. Reveal the fact that I carry a gun and reveal myself, or depend on luck to keep my charge safe. It's starting to look more and more likely that they know I'm protecting Kyoya. Meaning, I'll have to keep an eye on my own back on top of everything else. Meaning, my job, and life, just got twice as hard.

I'm even watching the Ootori household as I'm talking. More likely than not, I just passed the second test. Checking to see if I'm the bodyguard. There's a couple ways I just proved that. I ran with Kyoya and made sure he kept moving. I wasn't very panicky when a highly aggressive dog was chasing after me. And then I found that shard of glass in the alley way. While it was a bit of a clue, it was also a bit too easy. Someone couldn't gone there when we stopped the car chase, planted the glass shard, and watched to see if I'd find it.

Fuck, I probably walked into that one.

Either way, I'm not taking any chances. If they don't know and this wasn't a test, then I'm watching Kyoya to see if they'll try a second time today.

If they do know, then fine. It wouldn't be the first time. And I'm making sure Kyoya doesn't start asking his father questions about the dog that had clearly targeted him. I'm actually somewhat grateful that it chewed up his chair cushion first. That gave me a good excuse for the scent thing.

But... as a little side note... Kyoya surprised me today.

Yeah, I know. That doesn't happen often, but it did today.

The dog was chasing _him._ He was terrified, I could tell. And yet, when he told Choshi to drive... he said he wanted to lead the dog away from the hosts, in case it went after them or someone else. In that one moment, he was selfless. And again, when he grabbed me from the seat. He's smart, and he knows I'm smart, too. He knew I would've climbed off the seat myself and gotten as far away from the crazy animal as I could, but he made sure of it.

I...

Never mind. I need to go talk to someone tomorrow. Happy Christmas Eve Eve.

End log.

* * *

 **Okay, starting to pick up a little. Next chapter will likely be short, but I think you'll enjoy it. I'm bringing in another character, one you might recognize, but might not be expecting.**

 **If you liked, let me know with a favorite, follow, or review! I haven't been getting a lot of reviews recently. I miss it.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	11. Log 10

**I've decided to make this one a little domestic after that last chapter. And it's a holiday chapter! Yay~ Oh, this is where the 'crossover-not-quite-crossover' starts coming into play. Just as a forewarning.**

 **Thank you to AusllyBeliever, Momochan77, queenglitch, and for your reviews!**

 **Disclaimer: Only Livia is mine.**

* * *

 _ **Retiree Home #573: Japan**_

 _ **Exact Location: Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan**_

 _ **Block 4, House 6**_

 _ **0845 hours**_

* * *

Livia raises a hand and quickly knocks on the door of a little two story house. Stepping back so the cameras could see her clearly, she looks around. It's very likely she doesn't have to, considering the security that must've been added to the perimeter of the lot, but it's still a habit.

Above her was the balcony, keeping the front doorway cleared of snow as she waited outside. There were a few small L.E.D. lights shining around the edge of the window, but other than that the home showed no signs of celebrating Christmas Eve.

Livia smiled a little. Her old supervisor had never been very flashy.

 _Click!_

The brunette looked forward again, her smile stretching a little wider at the sight of the short, black haired man, "Happy Christmas Eve, Kiku."

Her old supervisor returned the smile, opening the door a little more to let her in, "Happy Christmas Eve to you too, Livia."

Slipping her shoes off beside the ones waiting on the little mat, Livia stepped into the house and shivered, "It's so cold out!"

"It is winter." Kiku shut the door and pressed a button just on the side, which looked like an indoor doorbell. There came the sound of three little clicks and metal scraping on metal, like a long bar rubbing through a tube, and a solid _clunk_ before the older man stepped away.

Livia was still rubbing at her arms as she made her way towards the living room along the back of the house. She almost groaned in relief when she spotted the kotatsu table sitting in the middle of the floor. Slipping underneath one side, the brunette sighed at the warmth.

"Bless whoever dreamed up kotatsu tables…"

A steaming cup of green tea was placed in front of her right before Kiku knelt down on his own pillow. For a moment, the two are quiet, just soaking in each other's company. While Livia tried to visit her old supervisor at least once during her missions in Japan, it was still nice to be able to spend a holiday with someone you know. And even though Haruhi had offered to let Livia spend the day with her and her dad, she had refused, because this was more important.

"How have you been, Livia? How long has it been since your last visit? Eight months?" The man smirked into his tea cup, "You hardly ever call."

"Bullshit. I call you almost every week."

"Almost."

She lightly kicked the man's knee from under the table, "And I've been _fine..._ ish."

Kiku sighed, setting his cup back down, "How are the others?"

"They're fine. I sent a Christmas package to Connor and the Aleshires a few days ago. It should be there by now." The older man nodded and they relaxed in the silence again. Livia felt like a huge weight was being lifted off her shoulders as she talked about her family. When she had to pretend like she didn't have any, more often than not her mind would start playing tricks on her, questioning her reality. Having a safe place to reinstate her world is probably what made Livia such a good Japan Prime agent. She had a place to be herself and maintain her sanity without the risk of bugs.

The man straightened up a little, his eyes falling on her hair bun. Without need to be asked, Livia unclipped her recorder and offered it across the table, "The design changed a little. We can bend it just a tad. I think they're going to sell that idea to Apple or something... of course, they probably won't tell them the right materials."

Kiku rolled the device over in his hands, "I approve. More ways for it to be properly hidden in plain sight." His dark eyes met hers and he smiled ever so slightly, "And Saturdays..."

"Ugh!" she snatched the recorder back, twisting it between her fingers, "Yes, I've been recording on Saturdays. Almost got mauled by a attack dog last time, too, thanks for asking me about that."

"And this Saturday?"

Livia paused her recorder twirling, her scowl deepening as the playfulness was replaced with actual displeasure, "My Charge has invited me to a private plane ride to apologize for the _incident_."

"Ah," Kiku's eyes sparkled with amusement, "So I take it you are not as fond of him as he is of you?"

"He hates me as well."

"And that little crush he's developing for you is going swimmingly?"

She shot another kick beneath the Kotatsu, but this time the man grabbed her ankle. Livia felt him grab around her ankle and actually managed a smile when his eyes widened in surprise, "You still wear it?"

'It', of course, was referring to the beautifully woven anklet Kiku had given his trainee the day he retired and she was moved up to solo-agent status. Livia smiled a little wider and pulled her leg away, "Of course. Why do you look so relieved? Were you worried I'd forgotten about you for real?"

For a moment, Kiku watched her. Despite how the man wasn't even in his thirties, he had those 'thousand-year-old eyes' that appeared to stare straight into a person's soul. For the longest time, Livia had hated it when he looked at her that way, like he was peeling away all of her protective layers of sarcasm and fighting skills, leaving her with nothing but memories and tears. Now, however, she felt comfortable. It wasn't every mission she got to be around someone she trusted completely.

"It is not always safe to have items you are emotionally attached to while on missions..." Kiku's expression was unreadable, him being one of the few people who could still hide his intentions from the brunette sitting with him, "...but I am glad that you ignore the rules so well. In this instance."

"Thank you."

"So, tell me about this... 'Charge'."

"Nothing to tell, really. I protected one of his brothers a few years ago, and he basically ignored me then. Now he's trying to cozy up to me because of his father. His friends are crazy, and he's not much better. He's super cold to everyone and refuses to see the good things life has handed to him, like a loving staff, his sister, his friends. Sometimes I just want to-" Livia mimicked grabbing someone by the front of their shirt and shaking them, "He's such a jackass and I pushed him into a pool the other day and his friends think we like each other because of that but now he's actually starting to have feelings for me-"

"Huh."

Livia paused, crinkling her eyebrows, "'Huh', what?"

"Well," Kiku attempted to hide his smile behind his tea cup, but failed spectacularly, "I'm simply surprised. You've never complained about a Charge this much before. Not even the one from Ireland who was into... what did you call it? Parkour?"

"So? He's the most annoying." She narrowed her eyes, "You're laughing at me. Why?"

"No reason."

"Oh... not you, too! Come on, Kiku! I was counting on you!"

The man chuckled and set the empty cup down, "Well, what of the others?"

"They won't leave me alone! They showed up at my apartment two weeks ago and refused to leave without me! My Charge's best friend even forced me to join their club!"

Kyoya chuckled, "And you haven't made them hate you yet? This isn't your usual style." Livia lifted her eyes briefly before refocusing on her tea. "Usually, when your Charge develops a dislike for you, you cut off all ties and watch from a distance, as to not make a significant impact when you leave. What changed?"

The brunette shrugged, nonchalantly, "Just... trying something new, I guess. Working so far. And, they aren't _all_ bad, I suppose. The girl is chill."

"Livia-chan," her old nickname pulled out the semblance of a smile, "Do you want friends?"

"What? I have friends! At R.A.R.E.!"

Kiku nodded once, but his eyes had regained the 'thousand-year' look again, "I know... but do you want this... _club_ that you mentioned to be your friends?"

When she didn't answer right away, the man nodded again and leaned back a little, his eyes refocusing at the empty air above Livia's head, "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Livia-chan. This normally happens around your age in R.A.R.E. agents. Wanting even a vague and temporary glimpse into a normal life, with normal friends. You don't always have the time to reconnect with your family or close friends in the agency, what with missions and training, so it's not surprising that you're finding it a little difficult to stay away from these people this time around. Something about them has clicked with you, whether you realized it at first or not. They're just as hectic as your usual lifestyle, but at the same time there's a feeling of solidarity around them that your life lacks. I'm glad that you get to experience something like that now."

Kiku looked at his little protege, but she was simply staring at her tea cup. It didn't discourage the man, however. Livia didn't always know how to engage in these deep talks about herself. Sure, she'd go off on another person for taking their life for granted, but at the same time Kiku had grown to notice the way she tried to ignore what she was missing in her own life.

Deciding to let her think his words over another time, he stands up with his empty tea cup and begins walking to the kitchen at the front of the house, "So, have you given any more thought to your career once you retire?"

He can't see her from this angle, but knows Livia is probably smiling softly, grateful for the olive branch, "I dunno, still. I mean, I've got a few years, right?"

"But do you at least have an idea? You've got a wide range of skills."

The girl laughs lightly as he returns, "That's one way to put it. Well, I like the idea of being a translator, I guess. I'd still get to travel."

Kiku nodded, pleased, "And you'd be an English to Japanese translator? What of living arrangements?"

"Well, with all the traveling, I'd only need, like an apartment in Japan and one in England, so it's not like costs will-"

"England? Not America?"

Livia hesitates, "I... I just thought... being a Japanese and U.K. Prime agent it would be..." She sighed, pushing her cold tea away, "Do you know why they won't adopt us?"

"Do they know that's what you'd want? Is that what you want?"

"Yes... no? I don't know." She tugs the blanket a little further over her legs, "I mean... there are worst things? I'll always miss my mom and dad... and my Nana. Always." Kiku nodded, his eyes trailing over to a family shrine in the back corner of the room, a photograph of a smiling man placed front and center, "But... I want a _family_ with people I'm actually _related_ to. Except that would just be more ties that could be broken or taken away, and I _know_ they can take care of themselves, but I've never even talked to _Connor_ about any of this and I just..."

"Well, perhaps that should be the first step. Talk to your brother. He may surprise you... but I believe his sentiments match yours. Only the two of you can decided if it's something you really want. Do not forget... you are still children."

"So is Alfred... in a way."

The man across from her chortled a laugh, "Indeed! I recall training with him all those years ago!" The two shared a short laugh together for another few moments before Kiku calmed down enough to speak again.

"You do not need all the answers today. They'll come to you. Now, why don't you end your log for today and tell me about this school project you mentioned on the wire. It sounds very interesting."

"Interesting? Oh, please. End log."

* * *

 **All of my (limited) descriptions of the house came from Google Maps. I made up the numbers because they didn't provide any. *Sticks tongue out***

 **Anyways, yeah, I was going to do a sort-of crossover with Hetalia characters, because I figured that would be easier than shoving a bunch of new characters down your throat. But now... I'm not so sure. I'll keep the names Kiku and Alfred since they're already there, but I'll change some things around.**

 **If you liked, please favorite, follow, or review!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	12. Log 11

**Back into the swing of things. I know I took forever for this one, but I finally wrote a story for a different fandom and kinda… lost motivation? I'm sorry.**

 **Thank you Ausllybeliever, queenglitch, Momochan77, and Lamis for the reviews on my last chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I still only own Livia.**

* * *

 _ **GaijinPot Complex in Bunkyo-ku**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Apartment Room 204**_

 _ **0743 hours**_

* * *

 _Ugh_. Yet another Saturday away from my cozy apartment.

After my talk with Kiku last Sunday, he'd managed to bring up my hopes about this plane ride... for a few hours at least. But then Monday rolled around and reality caught me right in the chest like a roundhouse kick.

The rest of the Host Club, after they'd gotten over the fact that they had a legit brush with death, had immediately focused in on the fact that Kyoya and I ran away together. Hand holding and all that bullshit. And despite their 'apologies' for cramming our supposed 'romance' down our throats, they were doing a piss-poor job of pretending they weren't still shipping us.

Not to mention Kyoya himself. He's becoming harder and harder for me to get a read on the longer I know him. At first, I had a pretty basic understanding of what a huge douche he was. Determined to not see the blessings he had and instead focusing on his shortcomings until he finally met people to call his friends, and then _not_ calling them his friends! _Jesus…_ it gives me a headache just thinking about it.

Anyways, for the past week… I don't know how to explain it. That personality I just described is still there, but it's getting harder to see. Like… there's something else that's surfacing. He's been kinder to the others as of late, and while I'm pretty sure it's because of the dog incident and him finally coming to terms that he cares for the Host Club… he's been acting so odd-

* * *

 _Ding!_

Livia paused in her recording, glanced over at her phone which was currently resting on the counter top in her bathroom. Recognizing the name paired with the text, she rolled her eyes and lowered the hairbrush before picking the device up.

 _My car will reach your apartment complex in two minutes. Please be ready._

The girl growled and shoved the phone into the purse hanging at her side, not even bothering to answer. She had half a mind to call the whole day off already.

* * *

Yeah, just send me a text and think that the 'please' will make it seem like less of a demand. Fuck-head.

Where was I?

Oh, yes, Kyoya. What _else_ could I waste my time on?

He's been fluctuating between being a polite dick to me, and showing random acts of kindness… which he immediately backtracks from. Just the other day, he asked how our egg project was coming along. Quietly, of course, since no one knows we're treating it less like a parent-project and more of an I-feel-obligated-to-ask-how-my-old-foster-dog-is-doing relationship. But the question confused me. I told him it was just fine, but he _then_ asked if perhaps he could come over and see it at least once to help make our story more believable.

Before I could give him my own opinion he was called away by another student and we haven't spoken about it since. In fact, he didn't speak to me again that day until halfway through hosting hours.

I swear, if I ever turn to drugs and alcohol, the first words out of my mouth in rehab will be 'Kyoya Ootori'.

* * *

 _Ding dong!_

Letting out another sigh, Livia slipped the recorder into her pants pocket so the speaker/recording end was slightly sticking out. What? She couldn't _always_ put her hair up every time she went out on Saturday. Pulling the hem of her dark green shirt over the top of her pockets she opened the door, smiling as she prepared to greet Kyoya's driver…

"Miss Trasic."

The smile died, "Mister Ootori."

If he noticed her less-than-welcoming tone, he ignored it and offered an elbow, "Shall we?"

* * *

Twenty five minutes later and the two still hadn't spoken another word to each other. Livia stared out the window of the limo's cabin and tried to act as though she wasn't keeping an eye out for pursuing helicopters or black SUVs. As overused as those movie tropes were… they were often accurate.

It wasn't until they were driven into the airport's car-lot that Kyoya spoke up.

"You know, this _is_ meant to be an apology." Livia glanced over her shoulder at her Charge. "I would like to have some sort of a discussion with you… seeing as you didn't seek counseling like the others."

The brunette blinked, somewhat surprised that he'd noticed that, "What do you care if I'm okay or not?"

"Well, you did save me from being mauled by a dog last week."

"Yeah… I just knew that if you died, my parents would tell me to start getting cozy with your brothers, and I figured that would be disrespectful at your funeral." Kyoya scoffed, but she could hear the smile in his voice. "Either that or they'd take me back home, and I'd miss Haruhi."

She was expecting another scoff, or perhaps an outright laugh this time around, but instead he shifted in his seat, "Oh… right. I had forgotten."

For a brief moment, Livia was confused as to what he was talking about. Then it came back to her. The last time she had seen Kyoya and his family.

Four years ago, when she was almost two months into protecting Yuuichi Ootori, she had managed to gather enough information about the assassins to know the exact night they were going to attack the Ootori mansion and raced to intercept them. Livia got there just as they started to scale the walls up to Yuuichi's window. A few bullets from her gun severed the wires they were using and woke up the rest of the household.

From inside the house, she could hear screams and shouts as the Ootori's were pulled from their bedrooms by their bodyguards, but she had other things to focus on. Namely, the three black-clad men who were now either scouring around to find and punish whoever ruined their mission or running away. She faintly recalled going after the one who was attempting to escape and using a wire to tie him to a tree after knocking him out, then easily overpowering the second man and forcing him to pass out into the garden.

Then she was shot in the leg.

Livia cleared her throat. Kyoya must've figured that after his home had been fired upon, Livia's 'parents' had taken her back home fearing for their daughter's safety. It was as good as a cover as anyone could ask for.

"Right. So… where are we going today?"

"One of my family's private islands. It's close enough for a short boat ride, but around this time of year sailing is a rough journey, so I decided it would be best if we flew there instead."

Livia nodded. Private was always good. And unapproachable by water was even better. "So, what did you wish to talk about? Our project?"

He smirked, the mood sufficiently lightened, "If you wished to. I was hoping more to discuss business on this trip."

"Oh, did you?"

"Of course. How else do you think I convinced my father to allow me to take a beautiful young girl to a private location in one of our private planes, unsupervised?"

The American struggled to not blush at the implications she realized she was now in the middle of. If some magazine caught wind of this little 'outing'... she sneered. Sometimes it really sucked being a girl, because even when she technically didn't have to worry about the things other girls around the world thought about every time they walked down the street, she still had to act like she cared, less she be taken as stupid and naive.

Damn her 'X' chromosomes!

Deciding to change the subject, she decided to ask a question that had been bugging her since she'd met the boy beside her. But she couldn't just _ask_ it like she wanted to. Because if his father hadn't briefed her a month ago, then she wouldn't know about it at all.

It wasn't until they were being driven in those golf-cart-like cars across the tarmac that she spoke up again, "So… how come your father gave you the business? The last time I was here, he was pretty clear about giving it to Yuuichi. What did you do to change his mind?"

Kyoya raised his eyebrows at her before facing forward once again, clearly thinking, "Well… to give you the short story, I saved the company. It was being bought out by Grand Tonnerre, a very powerful family in France. I went in as an unnamed backer and purchased the company before Grand Tonnerre could, but my father was still able to figure out who I was."

"But… the company is still in your father's name?"

"I gave it back to him. I suppose that's what convinced him to stop dangling it in front of me."

"You just… gave it back? Why?" Finally, Livia was able to ask her actual question. As horrible as Kyoya's father was when it came to teasing his youngest with the company he could never had, Livia had been surprised to hear that Kyoya just gave it back without a second thought as to whether his father would make him the heir or not.

The boy beside her leaned back in his seat, "I wasn't going to steal the company if that's what you're asking. I wanted to earn it."

"So… it wasn't because you'd found something better? Something you cared for more than running the company?" Kyoya finally turned his head to face her completely, expressionless. She shrugged, "Say, the Host Club?"

At that, her charge got a funny look on his face and leaned towards her a little, "I've been meaning to ask, Miss Trasic, why are you so set on making me admit that I care about the Host Club?"

The two stared at each other for a moment, neither backing down for a good fifteen seconds before Livia faced front again, "If you won't answer my question, I refuse to answer yours."

There's a brief hesitating silence, followed by, "I suppose that's fair."

Rolling her eyes, Livia leaned back into her seat, only to straighten up once more at the sight of the Ootori's plane coming into view. Or, more like a business jet. It wasn't as big as she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't small either.

"A little more comforting than another car ride, is it not?"

The brunette was worried that if she kept rolling her eyes they'd fall out of her head, but at the same time did not answer. She had a job to do… Kyoya hadn't exactly asked her about this trip in secret.

"Say, Kyoya?"

"Yes?"

She ignored the hand he offered as she climbed out of the cart, still looking at the plane, "I've… become quite interested in planes… as my parents have started shipping me around the world more often lately to those boarding schools and what not." She glanced at the ravenet, "Would you mind if the pilot gave me a tour before take-off?"

Kyoya appeared surprised, but didn't comment on the strange request. Instead, he beckoned a man with greying hair over.

"Miss Trasic, this is our pilot for the day, Anno-san. Anno-san, this is Miss Trasic Livia, my classmate and guest for the day."

The two bowed to each other, and Livia almost laughed when she saw the huge, genuine smile on the older man. Geez, was one of the requirements for working for the Ootori's to be a wonderful person or something?

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Trasic."

"Likewise, Anno-san."

"Miss Trasic would like a tour of the plane before we take off, if you wouldn't mind, Anno-san. She has an interest in planes." If possible, the man's face brightened a bit.

"Of course! Right this way, Miss!"

Livia smiled at the man and followed after him, Kyoya at her side. Thank goodness she'd come to the airport the day after he'd invited her on this trip. In her left pocket was an alert that would tell her if someone set off her motion detectors on the roof of the airport. That, unfortunately, had been the only thing she'd been allowed to do. Anything else would've upset the radio towers, which _sucked_ because it meant there'd be no camera footage that couldn't be rewired or altered.

Still… at least she could cross snipers off her list of worries for the day.

The three managed to get halfway around the plane before Livia's eyes caught onto something. It almost looked like a shadow… but something about it was off. Anno-san and Kyoya continued to walk past the wing, moving towards the plane's tail, but Livia stopped. Walking until she was directly underneath the wing, between the body and the engine, she craned her head back.

"Anno-san?"

The boys stopped and, noticing that she was staring at something, walked back to join her.

"Is there a problem, Miss Trasic?"

"Um… when was the last time this plane was inspected?"

The pilot paused, and responded in confusion, "Perhaps two hours ago? We knew you'd want to leave as soon as possible, so as soon as this tour's done, then we can take off."

"I don't think that's happening today." Without another word, Livia pointed upwards towards the plane's wing. In the shadows, right next to the seam, was a very fine line on the metal. Could be a scratch, but Livia knew better.

A hand lightly touched her shoulder, and Kyoya chuckled before speaking, "Livia, the plane's wing won't snap off."

Anno-san joined in, "We can place some sealer over it and have it properly fixed when we-"

Something dripped into the brunette's outstretched hand.

Instantly their tour guide was shouting for a ladder and a flashlight, and a few seconds later he was staring in disbelief as another tiny bead of jet fuel slowly began collecting along the crack. The tank was leaking.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Kyoya and Livia were back in his limousine. She ran her thumb over the inside of her palm, because she could almost swear she could still feel the oil on her skin. Anno-san's apologies were still ringing in the back of her head, which made it difficult to come up with a new game plan.

Already her phone had gone off countless times with the airport and the crew swearing up and down they hadn't seen anyone new since the inspection, and Livia knew better than to waste her time going through the airport's cameras. Whoever was doing this was good. Too good to make a rookie mistake like getting caught by airport security.

"Livia?"

The American looked over at her fellow passenger. She was surprised to note that Kyoya didn't appear to be as shaken up as she thought he would be. Perhaps the second near-death experience wasn't as shocking as the first time? Or maybe a plane malfunction caught before they were even on board was less scary than an attack dog. That might be it.

Either way, Kyoya didn't look frightened. Instead, he was smiling at her. It was small, but it wasn't his usual smirk. Nope… both corners of his mouth were upturned. An actual smile. That almost freaked Livia out more than the fuel leak.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. You've saved my life yet again. And I suppose I have to apologize for putting your life in danger. Again."

The brunette's jaw almost dropped, "I… really?"

Ah, there was the smirk. But it was more genuine than usual, which was almost just as surreal. "You must be my good luck charm. Or I'm your bad luck charm." His eyes softened and he reached over to gently touch the back of her hand. Livia was so shocked, she didn't even pull away. Her green eyes were wide with disbelief as he leaned closer to her, their faces now only inches apart.

"Kyoya…"

"Are you alright? You look pale."

"I-I'm fine. I just… thank you."

He gently squeezed her fingers, and all she could think about was how warm his hand was, "How about I buy you a quick lunch and take you home?"

"Um… that sounds nice. Thank you, Kyoya."

* * *

Fuck.

I'm fucked.

So... I'm beyond sure that he's developing feelings for me now. _That's_ what this past week has been. He's starting to have feelings for me, and he's trying so hard not to, bless his heart, but now that I'm saving his life all the time he's growing infatuated! God damn it!

 _Thud!_

I kicked the couch if you were wondering what that was.

If that's what this assassin is attempting to do, then good for you Fuckwad, you've done it! And if you think about it, it's a good theory in practice. Either get the agent to reveal themselves to the Charge and freak them out, _or_ get them to fall in love with each other and get the agent to stop focusing on the job.

That second one doesn't happen often, as it's our biggest rule in R.A.R.E… but it _does_ happen. And when it does it's not typically pretty.

Rules are made for a reason. And it's not 'to be broken'.

But that clusterfuck aside, today was actually a good thing. I've got a new lead.

Grand Tonnerre... This sounds promising.

End log.

* * *

 **Wow, once I actually sat my lazy self down and started working, this chapter practically made itself. I had to change the damage done to the plane and the plane itself a few times for it to make sense, but I think I did okay in the end. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, even though it's late.**

 **If you liked it, please favorite, follow, or leave a review! I love reviews! I love them like I love puppies, which is a lot!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	13. Log 12

**AHHHHH!**

 **That's always a promising sign, right?**

 **Thank you to AusllyBeliever, queenglitch, Momochan77, havarti2, and Amarenima Redwood for your reviews! I'm so glad that my works are binge-worthy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the original host club!**

* * *

 _ **GaijinPot Complex in Bunkyo-ku**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Apartment Room 204**_

 _ **1502 hours**_

* * *

I woke up this morning to a fresh pang of homesickness. It snowed.

When I was a young girl, Connor would always wake me up when it snowed and we'd run out to the living room. My mom would be sitting on the couch with her coffee, the news station already on, school closings running along the bottom of the screen. We'd sit on the floor in front of her, as close to the television as she'd allow us, waiting for our school name to be announced so we could sled in the backyard...

 _Ahem._ Sorry, didn't mean to get all sappy there.

But anyways, before I head out to the train station, I did some research on Grand Tonnerre yesterday. And by _some_ , I mean a _fuck ton._ I basically did nothing but pull files and decrypt firewalls for over fifteen hours. I'm sure I'm going to have a serious case of carpal tunnel before I retire.

And what I can tell… Kyoya seriously fucked them over to get his position as Heir. Good for him.

Long story short, since I've already sent the files back to our research teams to double check, Grand Tonnerre is a Finance and Business Management company that got their starting funds from descending from a royal family. But what's kept them in business for the past thirty or so years is by digging their fingers into the workings of large, successful businesses and slowly taking more and more control until their CEO's have no choice but to give Grand Tonnerre ownership.

As they are based in France, they were slowly working their way through other countries, such as Germany, Italy, Austria, and Japan, where they knew a few CEOs personally and started becoming a sort of overbearing cloud of doom for business owners. And there's a _ridiculous_ amount of money that goes into purchasing those companies. There were lawyers hired for each country they worked in to make sure they weren't doing anything _too_ illegal, multiple employees who were forced to work overtime to work their ways up in the companies, and then when the companies refused to sign the titles over without some sort of cushie compensation for their families. And the same could be said for the Ootori Group.

Until Kyoya stepped in.

And it get's _better!_ Once the story of a high school student outwitting Grand Tonnerre leaked all over the world, they lost a huge amount of respect. Many of their future "projects/targets" fell through, and a decent portion of their employees, including all of those lawyers, jumped ship! After that, it was lawsuit after lawsuit as they tried to continue their practice, and they've been forced to sell those companies they bought back to the original owners.

And, like a cherry on top, their only heir lost her fiancé… Tamaki Suoh.

Which is why I'm currently running around my apartment like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to get my stuff together and ambush Haruhi at the train station. Guess she's more of an asset than we first thought.

* * *

"Haruhi!"

The brunette jolted a little at her name being shouted out before turning around. Spotting Livia waving at her through the crowd, she smiled and waved back, waiting for the American to join her before they both jumped onto the train heading towards Ouran Academy.

"Hey, Livia-senpai. You seem… oddly cheerful this morning. What's up?"

The agent shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno. Woke up early today and got to ride the train with you. No host club to bug us. Probably won't fall asleep in my class… the possibilities are endless."

Haruhi snorted with laughter before grabbing onto a nearby pole as the train began moving. Livia grabbed one of the overhanging hand rails and waited for the other girl to calm down. She had fifteen minutes to get through this conversation. There were a few things she wanted to learn before they gained six eavesdroppers who didn't understand personal space.

"So… how'd Saturday go?"

Okay. Livia had not expected that. She froze a little before composing her expression, "Saturday?"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, "You spent the day with Kyoya-senpai, didn't you? How'd that go?" The deadpan look she got in response must've been a really good one, because she immediately shook her head and waved her free hand in front of her face, "I'm not trying to imply anything… from you at least. I get that you're business partners, or at least you'll be that in the future, but from knowing Kyoya-senpai for over a year, he definitely acts… differently around you compared to all the other future business partners in the school. Not saying anything will come of it, but I think you need to stop ignoring it."

"Right. Not happening." Livia tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach as she cleared her throat, "And we were supposed to spend some time on his family's private island, but there was a problem with the airplane so he just bought me lunch and took me home."

Another raised eyebrow, but Livia ignored it, "However, he did tell me something interesting. And… I wanted to ask you about it."

"Shoot."

"So… oh, this may be a bit awkward… but I knew I'd heard Tamaki's name before... and… I had. He was supposed to… marry someone else?"

Instantly Haruhi's body stiffened, so Livia forced her body to cringe inward.

"I'm sorry. That was rude of me. Forget I said anything. It was none of my business."

"No… no it's fine. It's just… that girl brings out a lot of bad memories. She was intolerable."

Livia tilted her head to the other side, "If you don't mind… do tell?"

* * *

 _*Low whistle*_

Wow. That Eclair Tonnerre sure sounds like a character. I knew that there are plenty of entitled and snobbish rich kids in this world, but _damn_. That's just ice cold. I mean, splitting up the Host Club just because she could make Tamaki do whatever she wanted? Trying to take him to France? I already said this, but God _damn_.

On the other hand, she doesn't seem like someone who would order a hit on the boy responsible. I mean, she let Tamaki leave her willingly. Perhaps there's a bit of decency in her? Or not, there's still a possibility, I suppose. But I dunno. Something's telling me it's not her. She's still a teenager. That's a little young to be making contracts with assassins, in my opinion.

Make no mistake, that doesn't rule her out as a suspect. I'm not stupid. However, I'm not going to be focusing on her at the moment…

Because that same thing in my gut that tells me it's not her is whispering that she probably learned that cold, controlling, take-no-prisoners attitude from _someone._ And I bet my fictitious pink lamborghini and four-story, silver filled mansion somewhere in California that the someone might be addressed as 'Father'.

Now, I need to go. The twins ambushed Haruhi and I outside the school with snowballs when we got here. I just barely managed to shake them off by slipping into the bathroom. I should probably go join them before Kyoya starts wondering where I went off to...

Which is a long list of swear words for another time...

* * *

By the time Livia got back outside where she'd left Haruhi to fend for herself, the Host Club had gotten into a full-fledged snowball _war._

It was Haruhi and Tamaki vs. Hikaru and Kaoru vs. Mori and Honey. Kyoya was standing to the side, watching with a smirk and taking a few pictures of the activity, but not participating. Groaning to herself, she slowly waded through the snow in her black boots before stopping about two feet away from Kyoya.

He noticed her immediately and shot her a smirk, "Good morning, Livia. How was your commute?"

"Fine." She sighed, her breath misting out in front of her. As she watched Tamaki cheer as he successfully hit Mori square in the back, only to be caught under an avalanche of snow from the twins, an unexpected movement caught her attention.

It was a snowflake.

Tilting her head back, she stared straight up as it started snowing again. For a moment, she just took it in. Snow always made her feel like a little kid again. It was sad sometimes… but mostly it was just good memories that were somewhat bittersweet, and yet brightened her mood all the same.

Those memories were what made her smile at the various grey shades of the clouds that blanketed the sky overhead, and brought out a few giggles when the snowflakes fluttered into her face. She didn't know why she did, but something about the sudden appearance of the little white things from a grey landscape always made her laugh. But only if she was looking straight up.

Perhaps it was because it made her feel like she was inside of the opening credits for a Christmas movie? Or because it was so peaceful it was ridiculous to her.

"What's so funny?"

Livia quickly looked back down, finding that Kyoya had moved closer and was staring up at the clouds, just as she had been. The snowflakes, which were falling a little heavier now, slowly collected on his glasses. When she didn't answer right away, he turned his head to face her and she looked away.

"Nothing. Just… I have a lot of good memories with snow."

"I see."

Livia refused to look at him, instead pulling her coat a little closer to her body, "So, who's winning?"

"I don't think there is a winner. They're all going to be completely soaked by the time they get to class."

The American hummed, and let her gaze roam the rest of the courtyard, "Are you sure there are no winners?" Kyoya once again followed her line of sight, his eyes widening just a tad when he noticed the multiple snowball fights that were breaking out amongst his fellow students. There were a few boys who were just shoving each other into snowbanks and girls who were making snow angels. One girl nailed her boyfriend in the face with some snow, only to be tackled by his younger siblings, who had run across campus from the elementary school to join in.

A nudge and head nod from the green-eyed girl brought his attention back to the Host Club, where Tamaki had paused briefly to watch the chaos breaking out among his fellow students. His usual bright grin wasn't present, giving way to a smaller, more sentimental expression of happiness. Kyoya allowed a miniscule smile on his own face as Haruhi stuffed a decent amount of snow down the blond's shirt and his contentedness was replaced with disbelief and shock and an expression that somehow managed to convey, 'COLD COLD COLD' just by itself.

" _And you say they're not your friends._ "

Kyoya turned back to the girl at his side, making up his mind to finally get an answer as to why she continuously insisted on the Host Club being his friends. She was far too invested in that argument for it to not mean something significant. But before he could, her face was suddenly obscured by something white striking her left cheek.

For a moment, the girl just stared at Kyoya, the remains of the snowball melting and dripping off her cheek before she turned towards the battle. The six wet hosts had frozen still, Hikaru still bent forward, his left hand stretched out towards her. For a moment, he looked smug. Then it changed to complete and total terror when the girl dropped her school bag and _launched_ herself at the battle, scooping up a ball of snow and chucking it at him.

The half-formed snowball hit him square in the face and knocked him backwards into a snowdrift.

Immediately, the group dissolved into a free-for-all.

Livia dodged every snowball, the world becoming clear as her training kicked in. Scoop. Pack. Dodge. Throw. Dodge. Repeat. She couldn't have hidden her smile even if she tried. Time stopped meaning anything as she lost herself in the game. She hit the six others at least five times each. At some point, she wasn't sure when, but Hikaru and Kaoru had also somehow gotten Kyoya into the game, nailing him in the chest as he continued taking photographs.

And instead of getting mad, he just dropped his camera on top of his school bag and joined the chaos.

About two minutes into the madness, Livia is laughing out loud, looking over her shoulder, "Alf…" she stopped. She had been about to say Alfred. Because the last time she'd had a snowball fight, she and Connor had been in the U.K. with Alfred and Jonathan… it had been her and Alfred against the other two. And that had been years ago. It was the first time Connor had laughed since he became a trainee.

Unfortunately, as Livia reminisced, she forgot that she was in the middle of a snowball war.

"Watch out!" A hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the way of an onslaught of snowballs. And her next step sent her foot on a corner of packed down and icy snow. Livia squeaked as she fell forward, knocking Kyoya down as well.

"Oof!"

"Ow!"

Livia straightened up immediately, and her face flushed. She was on top of Kyoya, her legs straddling his waist and her hands pressed against his chest. For a few seconds, they just stared at each other, red faces darkening the longer they were there.

She quickly scrambled off him, falling sideways into the thick snow before managing to stand up. Kyoya sat up, the two of them avoiding eye contact. Thankfully, none of the others seemed to have noticed the slip, too busy with their continuing war.

Clearing her throat, Livia did her best to dust the snow off her legs, "Um… I-I should go in and dry off. I don't want wet clothes in class."

She turned around just as Kyoya called out, "Wait!"

He was back on his feet as well, and for a moment they just stared at each other. Kyoya rolled his shoulders back as he seemed to search for the right words, "Would you mind… if I accompanied you home tomorrow evening to work on our egg project?"

Livia could've sworn his words were actually creating a noose around her neck.

"Sure. See you in class!"

And with that, she grabbed her school bag and ran inside, not looking back once.

* * *

Fuck!

End log!

* * *

 **Okay, so everyone is probably wondering when the truth is going to come out and how Kyoya's going to react, and there are some really interesting ideas coming in... so I'm going to let you know it's all gonna spill really soon! Get ready!**

 **If you liked this chapter, please let me know by favoriting and following this story and leaving a review for me to read and smile at!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	14. Charge Camera Recording 1

**My first non-log chapter of this story! Hope you like it! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write this… please forgive me! It's been a stressful past few months!**

 **Thank you to Amarenima Redwood, Auslly Believer, Momochan77, havarti2, queenglitch, konohasfangirl, and JustUrAverageLoser for your reviews!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Host Club.**

* * *

 _ **Charge Camera Recording #63**_

 _ **Ootori Mansion: Cameras 007-041**_

 _ **2318 hours**_

* * *

Empty.

Empty hallways. Empty rooms. Empty staircases.

That's all Livia could see as she sat at her small dining table, chin resting in the palm of her hand. She stared blearily at the multiple videos playing on her laptop. The apartment is silent, save for the soft clicking of the mouse as she rotated through the different cameras that had been set up around the Ootori Mansion.

The brunette lets out a yawn, which is followed by a long groan as she straightens her back, joints popping in protest. Rolling her head around to relieve the tension from her neck, she glanced over to the microwave hanging above the oven.

Eight- no… Nineteen minutes past eleven.

Rubbing at her eyes, she let out a long sigh before glancing back at the screen. Nothing was moving, save for two figures in the sitting room and one in the kitchen. She couldn't see her charge from the way her cameras had been angled, which meant he was in bed. And since there were no lights on in the room that she could see, he must be asleep.

One last sigh was released before Livia stood up from her chair, shutting the laptop as she did so. If even the workaholic had turned in, perhaps she should do the same. It was a school night, after all.

The brunette slowly wandered into her bedroom, her right hand blindly swatting at the wall until the kitchen light went out.

* * *

Underneath the lip of a mahogany table, a minuscule red light flashed periodically. Too small to be noticed by anyone who wasn't looking for it, and yet the camera it was a part of remained in a place that allowed it to view most of the hallway.

Said view is, at the moment, empty. And of course it was. It was mostly of bedroom doors and as it was past eleven o'clock at night, everyone was asleep.

Or, not everyone.

One of the doors slowly opened, at the very far end of the hallway. A black-haired boy in light blue pajamas emerged from the dark room. Kyoya pulled his door shut behind him with his left hand, his right holding an empty water glass by his side. The boy briefly lifted his glass and observed the inside of it. He must've noticed some remaining droplets of water, because he quickly drained the last of it before walking down the hallway.

He stifled a wide yawn with the back of his free hand as he passed the mahogany table, leaving one camera's view and entering the focus of another. And he continued to move from one videotape to another, quiety padding his way to the staircase at the end of the hallway.

* * *

Kyoya was so tired.

He unhappily paused at the top of the stairs, rubbing at his dried-out eyes before continuing on. The sluggishness of his actions, while it could be mistaken for an attempt to sneak around the house and not awaken the rest of his family, was unfortunately more from hindered brain functions, which did not sit well with the ravenet.

His left hand was lightly resting along the railing of the staircase, just in case he slipped and didn't want to break his neck on the way down. Mentally, he tried to reprimand himself for staying up two hours past the 'bedtime' he had attempted to set for the night, but knew there was no getting around it.

The Host Club's financials were never done… _apparently._

Yawning once again, Kyoya finally reaches the bottom of the stairs and starts walking towards the dining room. He almost runs into the doorframe and sighs.

 _I just need another glass of water, and then I'm going straight to bed_ , he promises himself. After all, he had a busy day tomorrow. Not only would he have school and the usual club activities, but he would also be joining Livia Trasic at her apartment afterwards to work on their egg project.

Kyoya can't help but smirk at the thought, his mind instantly focusing on Livia… which he had been doing a lot of, recently.

 _We should've started working together sooner,_ he can't help but wish. _She's a decent companion, work-related or otherwise, and even if her words are occasionally sharp when they aren't fake… talking to her is almost inherently interesting._

Kyoya's smirk had grown a bit by the time he reached the kitchen, knocking on the door. A few seconds later and the dish washer emerged, one earbud still plugged into his left ear. The last remaining staff member of the day smiled softly when he realized it was the youngest son and gestured with his head for the other boy to enter.

A few seconds later and Kyoya was standing by the sink, refilling his glass quickly so the other could get back to work. Even though he seemed fine with the momentary break, drying his hands to shuffle through his music selection, the man probably wanted to go home sooner rather than later.

Kyoya slipped to the side once the glass was full, leaning against the counter top while the older man took his place, grabbing the sponge and a dessert plate with the remains of what looked like chocolate frosting on it. Probably an extra slice of chocolate cake that Fuyumi had sneaked into her room after dinner. Her younger brother couldn't help but smile as he sipped his drink. His only sister had always seemed younger than she actually was. Perhaps that was why she and Livia got along so well?

He should invite Livia to dinner in another few days. After all, she and Fuyumi hadn't really spent much time together so far, and they had been pretty close friends the last time the American had been in Japan.

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. Last time… he hadn't given the American girl much thought. Sure, they were in the same class, but she was more of Aikio's project than his own. And if he were to be honest, Kyoya hadn't thought her worth his time. She'd kept her head down and didn't speak much in class. Besides, he was more interested in meeting her parents, but since no opportunity for it arose during her time in Japan, he hardly gave her a second thought.

 _Which was a mistake._

Livia was so much more than he'd originally given her credit for. She was smart, yes, but also full of passion and fire. She didn't trouble herself with making friends, yet at the same time seemed to fiercely defend even the _idea_ of lasting and caring relationships.

Kyoya cast a sideways glance at the employee working beside him. He had never really considered what they must think of his family, cold as the current patriarch was. They were simply employed to keep the house looking immaculate and provide the basic household chores that could not be done while the Ootori's were all either at work or school.

And perhaps he had also assumed they would only think negatively of them all. It would've made sense.

Now, however… ever since Livia had mentioned that the staff actually cared for Kyoya and his family… he had begun to notice a few things, here and there. Like how if he woke up with a slight chill and wore a sweater to breakfast, there would be an extra blanket waiting on his bed that night. Or how his mother never lost her reading glasses because her personal maid always knew where they'd been placed. Or-

He went to set the newly emptied glass down on the counter, but before he could the dishwasher held out a hand for the cup. The older man smiled kindly when Kyoya thanked him before rubbing the glass with the soapy sponge.

-things like that.

 _Yes,_ he mused as he exited the kitchen, _Livia is certainly full of surprises. And… she is very beautiful._ Kyoya shook his head, lips still slightly curled into what might almost be an actual smile. Livia Trasic was a mystery, one that he was slowly unwinding the longer she remained at Ouran, and despite his best efforts she was unwittingly starting to win Kyoya's favor… in more ways than one.

" _Please, Dear, try not to worry so much. Kyoya is safe. Do you think I would allow him to leave the house if I believed otherwise?_ "

Kyoya froze in place, his head whipping around to stare across the hallway. The doors that lead into the sitting room were cracked open just a hair, enough for his father's quiet words to escape and still allow the boy to hear them.

" _I understand that… but I can't help but worry… And what of his friends? And Trasic-san-_ "

" _There's no need to worry for any of them either-_ "

" _Yoshio, he is your_ son!"

Kyoya had now crept across the hall, hovering a mere inch away from the doors. He didn't dare touch the wood, nor attempt to peek in through the small crack, lest either of his parents realize that he was not in bed like they clearly assumed.

From what he could tell…

" _And I trust that he is safe enough with the protections we have put in place! With the amount of money we've invested in his safety, I'd be surprised if the perpetrators weren't caught within the next week._ "

Kyoya's eyes narrowed, leaning closer. _Perpetrators?_

" _Still, I am his_ mother. _It's my job to worry over my children._ "

His father sighed, a deep sound that almost forced Kyoya to look into the room regardless. He'd never heard that sound come from his father before. Never. It sounded almost like… giving up.

" _And I am his father._ "

There was another brief moment of silence, peppered only by the sound of sniffling. It took Kyoya longer than it should've to realize his mother must be crying.

" _I thought… I thought it would be over after Yuuichi-_ " she cut herself off, the sound of a tissue being used following shortly after.

" _As did I,_ " his father continued, " _but we are a powerful family, with intelligent sons. It is only to be expected-_ "

"There is no reason to expect your sons to be assassinated!"

Kyoya's eyes went wide, heart stopping dead mid-beat.

Before his father could respond, or his mother could follow up, the boy slowly backed away from the door. He moved backwards all the way to the bottom of the staircase, his grey eyes glued firmly to the golden line of light shining from the sitting room.

His calf bumped the bottom step.

And he ran.

* * *

Kyoya was back in his bedroom in less than a minute. Never had he ever run so fast in his life before, nearly tripping on the way up the stairs and again as he fumbled with his doorknob. Once he got the door open, he wasted no time in closing it from the other side.

It took a while to lock it behind him, though. His hands were shaking like mad.

When it finally slid into place, Kyoya spun around, pressing his back against the wood while his left hand flung outwards to turn the lights on. His bedroom lit up before his eyes, but it wasn't enough. The large windows that practically made up an entire wall of his bedroom now loomed ominously before him. Kyoya could almost imagine the sound of shattering glass echoing in his ears as a bullet flies through them before burying itself in his chest. He strained to see out into the night, but it was impossible.

His heart rate increased.

Shaking, his whole chest tightening in terror, the ravenet launched himself across the room towards the staircase that lead up to his loft. Ducking into bed, he unashamedly pulled the blankets over his head. His glasses dug uncomfortably into the side of his face and across the bridge of his nose, but he couldn't find it within himself to care.

The memory of gunshots going off fills his head…as if it were only last week.

* * *

 _*Four years prior*_

A thirteen year old Kyoya sat bolt upright in his bed. The loft was a fuzzy collection of dark objects wrapped in even more dark. Meaning… he couldn't see anything. At all.

Blinking his tired eyes, the boy reached over to his nightstand and grabbed the glasses that currently rested there. Yawning, he went to turn on the lamp when he noticed the time. It was three in the morning. What was he doing up?

He'd… heard something.

It had sounded like a loud _crack._ Perhaps it was a thunderstorm? But… he couldn't hear any rain…

 _Crack! Crack crack!_

The boy quickly pulled his arm back. That most certainly _wasn't_ thunder. And he was now hearing something else. Voices, coming from just outside. Very loud voices… someone was shouting. A few people, actually. But he couldn't understand what they were saying.

Swallowing, fear crawling around his chest, even though he wasn't sure why, the ravenet slipped out of his bed. His bare feet gingerly touched the cold rug and he shivered, wishing for his house slippers. Except… he wasn't sure where they were. He'd need to turn the light on to find them, but he didn't want to do that. For some reason.

Kyoya crept down the stairs, a hand holding tightly to the railing in the dark. Just as he reached the bottom there were another series of ' _crack_ 's, this time accompanied by screams and flashes of light. Before he could inch closer to the windows to see what was going on-

 _BANG!_

"Young Master Ootori!"

It was Aijima, one of Kyoya's personal guards. His bedroom door had been thrown open, and Kyoya could hear his other guards Tachibana and Hotta shouting in the hallway. Before the teen could ask what was going on, his guard had entered the room and was now grabbing his arms. The boy let out a small cry of alarm as the larger man hauled him out of the bedroom, keeping himself between the windows and the teenager in his arms.

The hallway was completely lit up, forcing Kyoya to shut his eyes against it's yellowy brightness. Squinting, he saw the rest of his family up ahead, all in the arms or grips of their own personal bodyguards, much like Kyoya himself.

"Father! What's happening?"

His father didn't appear to hear him. The bodyguards were all shouting, either at each other or into their earpieces or providing directions on where the family was turning next. Kyoya looked around frantically as he was quickly pushed and, when he tripped, even carried down at least three staircases and numerous hallways. There were no staff members remaining at this time of night. Only the night guards. Most of whom were completely suited up and charging towards the front doors.

It wasn't until one of his mother's guards pushed open a door that was painted to blend into the wall that Kyoya understood where they were being taken. The "Bunker", as he and his siblings had dubbed it. In a matter of moments, the Ootori family was quickly shoved into the small room and the door shut behind them. Kyoya's father threw the long bolt into place and… it went quiet.

The family's shaky breathing echoed around the cement chamber. There was nothing to sit on. No rugs. No windows. Not even an outlet. Only the smallest of air vents, a small case of water in the left back corner, and a locked door.

Kyoya jumped in shock when another pair of arms were wrapped around his shoulders. It was Fuyumi. She was shivering… or perhaps that was him. It was cold standing on the cement with no slippers…

"Father, what's going on?"

The man turned to his family, and Kyoya could swear he was watching his father age before his eyes. Did he always have that many grey hairs? Or all that exhaustion in his eyes?

Fuyumi held him closer.

"You all might wish to sit down."

There was no hesitation. The four siblings sat down beside each other, shivering slightly at the cold cement floor sucking out the warmth from their bodies, but didn't complain. They simply stared at their father and waited.

Inhaling deeply, Mr. Ootori looked over his family, "Perhaps you will be angry at me for keeping this from you for so long… but please understand I was trying to keep you safe."

"Safe from what?"

"Father, you're frightening us."

Another sigh, "One of our rivals has… hired an assassin to kill Yuuichi." The eldest son stiffened in place, his eyes growing wide in shock. His brothers and sister unconsciously moved closer to him, even as they stared at their father in disbelief and fear. "We put protections in place, but it appears that they have attempted to raid our house. They were spotted, thankfully. Tonight will hopefully be the end of it, but until it is safe to leave… we'll be spending the night in here."

* * *

Back in the present, Kyoya was shaking, his breath coming out in gasps. That night was surprisingly vivid in his head. He remembered how he had clung to Yuuichi the entire night, a few tears leaking onto the older boy's shoulder. The waited had been the worst experience of Kyoya's life. As much as Yuuichi annoyed or irritated him, he was still his big brother. He couldn't imagine a world without him.

Only now… Kyoya was far more terrified than he had been all those years ago. Because now it was _his_ life on the line.

For a while, he simply stared around his bedroom. The lights were a comfort, chasing away the shadows and nightmares. It calmed Kyoya down like no other. To be able to see things as they were, in an objective manner, where no imagination could impede on reality.

Kyoya focused on breathing. Then on the shaking. And, finally, on completely relaxing.

He wasn't dead yet. And, according to father, there were already extra security measures put in place to keep Kyoya alive. It sounds as though his parents were using the same technique or equipment as they had with Yuuichi and his assassination scare. That was a comfort, as it _had_ saved his big brother's life, but Kyoya couldn't help but think perhaps it wasn't enough. Did they even _know_ who was trying to kill him?

Finally finding a question he could focus on, Kyoya sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

There were no doubt a fair number of people who felt their company's standings were threatened by his sudden overtaking of the company. As the third son, it was a _huge_ testament to both Kyoya's abilities and his father's expectations for his future. And there were no shortages of enemies for the Ootori Group in general. People who couldn't hold up their end of a bargain and were cut loose, attempts at sabotage that were announced publicly, or even simple rival companies.

Kyoya attempted to think on it for a moment before deciding it _was_ rather late. Perhaps tomorrow he could do his own research. There must be a few that could be ruled out automatically, such as those who wouldn't be able to afford an assassin or something of the like.

The ravenet took one last glance around the room before reaching over to the light switch by his bed, something he'd had installed a few months after that night four years ago. The room was once again thrust into darkness and he laid back, places his glasses on the stand beside him. Staring up at his dark ceiling, Kyoya squirmed under his bed-sheets. He was still… nervous.

Well, that was probably obvious. Not everyone has an unknown person out there trying to kill them. He could only imagine what would happen if the news of it was spread to his friends or those the Ootori Group worked with.

 _Wait._

He sat up in bed once again, turning on the light. _That's_ what had been bugging him! The news of his brother's almost-assassination had been a whispered rumor for _months!_ A fair few of their enemies _must've_ heard of it! And if the people who wanted him dead _also_ knew of it… and expected his father to react with a plan of action similar to when Yuuichi needed protecting… _would they hire someone who was familiar with the counterattack and know how to get around it a second time?_

Kyoya's heart was pounding once more. It made sense. There was no guarantee that someone hadn't escaped jail time that night. He wasn't supposed to, but the ravenet _had_ seen a number of guards whispering to each other as they pointed off towards the woods… despite the two attempted assassins having already been arrested and taken to jail hours before hand.

So if someone had escaped… and knew now what Kyoya's father would do to try to stop them… Kyoya might be in more danger than they realized.

But who could it be? He hadn't noticed anything strange recent- No. Wait.

The dog.

The plane fuel.

Those… hadn't been accidents, had they?

Cursing his stupidity, Kyoya rubbed at his temples. Okay… so clearly _someone_ had already attempted to kill him, with perhaps… less orthodox ways than one might expect. They didn't care if others got hurt, which made Kyoya's mere presence a danger to his friends and family. _Ugh_ , he had been so _careless!_ If Livia had shut the car door any later…

...or if she hadn't... seen that crack in the plane wing...

He froze. _H_ _ow had she… there was no way… unless she's known…_

A sharp and burning sensation embedded it's way into Kyoya's chest, making him breathless once more. Everything suddenly made sense. Livia had been around his family for two months before the night of the shooting, and right afterwards went back to America. She never visited. Never contacted Fuyumi. And her parents never made any _actual_ appearance. Not even a phone call.

Back then he had assumed she had heard of the shooting and was taken back home by her parents for her safety. But now...

To his complete shock, a tear developed in his left eye. He swiped at it, attempting to will up his anger and betrayal, but another tear formed regardless. It all made sense now. She was suddenly back in Japan after four years, hanging around him at the exact same time that someone wanted to kill him. And while she claimed to not like him, she still found reasons to hang around. The dog… the plane… all those times he thought she was saving his life, but now he knew she was just gaining his trust! Who else would be so calm around an attacking dog unless they'd trained it themselves? Who could've spotted a tiny crack in an airplane wing unless they knew what to look for and where?

He had trusted her…

A single tear traced its way down his cheek before he buried his face in his hands.

* * *

 **Um… yeah.**

 **If you liked, please favorite and follow this story! And leave a review if you can! I love reading reviews! They're my favorite!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	15. Log 13

**Welp, I know you've all probably been anxiously waiting for this chapter since the last one. I'm honestly sorry for how long these updates are taking, especially since I enjoy writing these just as much as you enjoy reading. Perhaps more.**

 **Thank you to XBnemesisX, AusllyBeliever, crazychessgurl, queenglitch, Momochan77, havarti2, GoldenOakLeavesofWindClan, and 2 guests for your reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter, despite how it's so late!**

* * *

 _ **Ouran Academy**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **North Hallway**_

 _ **1504 hours**_

* * *

" _Livia? Before class begins, you should probably be made aware that club activities have been cancelled for the evening. Feel free to go home once classes are finished."_

" _Oh. Okay. Are you still coming over to work on the egg project?"_

" _No… not tonight. Something came up. Family matter."_

" _Alright, if you say so."_

Livia frowned over the earlier conversation once again. Ever since Kyoya had told her, off-handedly, that club activities had been cancelled… something hadn't felt right. It had bugged her all the way through the last hour of class up to the front gates of Ouran Academy.

Now, as she abruptly spun on her heel and began marching back towards the building, she knew why.

Kyoya had lied to her.

Honestly, she should've seen it coming. For starters, Kyoya had been acting oddly all day. Mostly because he hadn't spoken to her unless he had to. And when he did... it was in a polite, almost delicate tone. As if he was walking across a tightrope without a safety net beneath him. Livia couldn't understand what had prompted such an abrupt and unusual shift, and it became clear throughout the day that the rest of the club and their classmates had been confused as well. Even Ania Kahae, despite how she had smirked at Livia from across the room when Kyoya had dismissed her from club activities, had been watching Kyoya with slightly pursed lips for an hour beforehand.

That was probably why Livia had believed Kyoya when he first mentioned 'family matters'. With a family like his, no wonder Kyoya would be so distracted. Even still… something about it had bothered her.

But she had tried to believe him.

Until she couldn't.

It was just as she was about to exit the school grounds when two other girls passed her, one of them dejectedly holding a container with two cupcakes in it.

"Oh… I hope my cupcakes still taste good tomorrow. I wanted Honey-senpai to try them."

"Don't worry, A-chan! Honey-senpai will love them!"

The girl smiled softly, "So, what do you think they're meeting about today?"

"Maybe a new cosplay!"

"Or another party!"

"Ooh… I hope so! I never got to dance with Haruhi last time!"

Livia didn't say a word. She just spun around and began marching in the opposite direction. _So… there's a club meeting today, hm? It would've been nice to have been invited._

But why hadn't she been?

The whole way back into the school and up to the North hallway, Livia thought it over. All the while trying not to feel offended. A meeting would definitely have explained why she hadn't seen any of the other club members leaving the school building, but… why hadn't she been told about it? Sure, she wasn't _exactly_ a host in the strictest sense. Tamaki claimed she was a hostess, but she mostly just pretended to entertain the girls while they waited for the others.

Then again… she'd been at these meetings before. What had changed? Was it because of how close she and Kyoya were getting? Was this the club's version of an intervention? Or… was it…

She hesitated right outside the door.

 _A secret meeting. The agent not invited. The charge and their closest friends all gathered into a room with only one exit?_

Sounded like a massacre to her.

Trusting the sense of foreboding in her gut, she inched forward and carefully pressed her ear to the crack between the doors. She's able to pick out the host's voices, but it didn't sound like anyone else was in there. No… they were talking among themselves. And it sounded serious.

" _Kyoya… are you sure? That's…_ "

" _I'm positive. There's nothing else they could've been talking about._ "

A few beats of silence.

" _What are you going to do?_ "

" _I don't know. I wanted to speak to my father, but it doesn't sound like something they wanted me to know about. It's possible he would lie to me or not take my concerns seriously._ "

" _Don't worry, Kyo-chan. We'll help you._ "

Livia's eyes narrowed. It sounded like Kyoya was in trouble. Something to do with his parents? Perhaps this _was_ a family matter. And, with Livia as a perceived 'valuable asset', he hadn't wanted to bring it up around her?

But the foreboding wouldn't quit. Something still seemed… wrong.

 _Fuck it._

Pulling the door open before she could change her mind, Livia poked her head into the room, "Guys? What's going on? I heard from some girls that…"

She trailed off. She had to. How else was she supposed to respond to the blank looks of _fear_ being projected at her.

Her stomach dropped.

"...Guys?"

It's only because of her years of training that she managed to sidestep the following attack. Honey grabbed at her bag, just narrowly missing her shoulder. She yanked at the bag, but let it go when Mori tried to grab her from behind. With a yelp, she ducked underneath his arms and slipped behind a pillar, just barely dodging a flying kick from Honey.

"Honey-senpai! Wh-what-"

At his following lunge, Livia jumped back again. Every instinct in her body is screaming at her, _Fight back! Defensive actions!_ But she ignored it, instead hastily backpedaling from a sudden swipe from Mori, squeaking at them to stop. As much as she didn't want to get hurt (and how badly she'd been hoping for a chance to spar against the cousins) she couldn't blow her cover.

"Stop it!" She hunched behind the couch before running, "What are you _doing!_ Hon- _eep!_ _Please!_ You're scaring me!"

"You can't fool us anymore, Liv-cha… Trasic-san. We know what you are."

Livia's mouth flapped a little. What was going _on-_

Movement in the corner of her eye gave the agent pause. It was the rest of the club. They were running towards the doors in a tight circle. Kyoya was in the middle, his arms held by the others. Almost like they were steering him out of the room… shielding him...

The figurative light bulb went off over her head.

"Oh… you've gotta be _fucking kidding me!_ "

At Mori's next swing, she didn't even bother dodging. Snagging the boy's wrist in a death grip, Livia watched his eyes widen for a split second before spinning into the boy's chest and vaulting him clear through the air over her shoulders. The 3rd year sailed across the room, just narrowly avoiding crashing into the group heading for the doors. He let out a pained grunt as he hit the couch, knocking it over.

Using the host's hesitation to her advantage, Livia jumped over a coffee table and skidded to a halt in front of the double doors, blocking their path, "You know, I'm getting really sick of you all messing up my job."

She watched the group move closer to each other, everyone looking around for another way out. In the back of her mind, Livia knew her word choice wasn't exactly de-escalating the situation, but she didn't care either. She was _mad._ Why not let them squirm for a bit?

"Kyo-chan, _run!_ " Livia rolled her eyes before sidestepping yet _another_ attack from Honey, crouching down to scoop something up from her discarded school bag. To his credit, the blond was back in another fighting position the moment his feet made contact with the floor. But he didn't attack again.

Not with the gun aimed at his forehead.

A soft, dazed, but no less distressed ' _Mitsukuni'_ could be heard from Mori's spot on the floor, but other than that no words were spoken. The slightest taste of bile began rising in the back of Livia's throat at the sight of the host club's eyes filling with tears. Honey began to shake in front of her, staring up at her with fear. He probably didn't even realize her safety was still on.

Taking a deep breath, she forced her expression to remain blank, "I don't want to threaten you, but you leave me no choice." They stared at each other for a moment longer before she jerked her head towards the others, "Go stand by them, please."

Ever so cautious, the 3rd year backed away until his cousin grabbed him and pulled him out of the line of fire. Livia lowered her gun immediately, but she knew the damage was done. She couldn't hide anymore.

Tamaki took a shaky step forward, despite everyone else making a grab for his arms. The brunette raised an eyebrow as he did his best to stare her down. Raising his chin, the blond shouted defiantly, "I-if you want to kill Kyoya… Y-you'll have to kill us… t-too."

Livia couldn't help herself.

She facepalmed, "Oh my god, you're all bigger morons than I first thought."

"Uh…" Tamaki hesitated, his fear giving way for the slightest hint of confusion. Behind him came more movement and Kyoya shoved his way past the blond.

"No. I won't let anyone get hurt on my behalf. Trasic-san, or whatever your name is… you can kill me, but leave them alone-"

"Just shut up!"

He stopped, still trying to shake off the twins pulling at his hands, but Livia was no longer watching. Nor caring. Her free hand came up to tug at her hair, which did nothing for her developing headache. _Of all the cases. Of all the people. Of ALL THE AGENTS!_

"Didn't you hear me? I said if you want-"

"I heard you all the first time, but… _good god_ you all think _I'm_ the assassin? _Really?_ Oh my fuck, I should've charged more from your father, _Ootori!_ I _swear_ you're going to give me an aneurysm before this is over with!"

Livia began pacing in front of the doors, waving her right hand in the air, gun safety still on, clearly agitated. The headache was officially formed in the back of her brain, pounding unhelpfully along with her heartbeat.

"I mean, are you _fucking kidding me?_ You manage to figure out someone is trying to kill you, and you think it's _me?_ How many details did you happen to gloss over to reach _that_ conclusion? And instead of confronting your father who _would've set you straight_ , you had to tell your friends and make _them_ targets too? God- _fucking_ I'm so fucking done with your _shit_ , Ootori! I'm demanding a raise the _instant_ I see your asshole father!"

Both of her hands began waving around as a plethora of filthy Japanese and filthier English poured out of her mouth. A deep red was beginning to burn her cheeks and down her neck, making her look even scarier when combined with her unruly hair and shouts.

A few feet away, the host club stared in wonder and shock. Mori's hands were covering Honey's ears, but even his mouth had fallen open as they continued to watch the girl pace.

After another minute of hearing how he had failed as an intelligent human being, Kyoya regained his ability to string words together, "Wait… what do you mean… _charge my father-_ "

"For fucks sake, Ootori, do I need to spell it out for you?" She finally stopped, staring at Kyoya in utmost disbelief, "Holy shit, you're both the smartest and the _stupidest_ person I have ever _met._ You haven't figured it out, yet? _I'm the only thing protecting you from having your head blown clean off, you_ fucking MORON!"

The expression on Kyoya's face gave off the impression that Livia had chucked _him_ into the couch as opposed to his older friend, "You're… you're _protecting_ me?"

"Uh… _duh?_ "

* * *

Livia's toes tapped against the tiles in a rapid staccato beat, her eyes continuously roaming around the room. The seven members of the host club were seated in a semicircle around her, nervously fidgeting as they squished together on two couches. Paranoid. Kyoya was the only one sitting still, sandwiched between Tamaki and a very shaken looking Honey, his eyes trained on the floor.

Livia cast one last look at the newly barricaded front door before deciding to break the silence, "Hey… um… sorry for threatening you, Honey-senpai. And Mori-senpai… for throwing you into a couch."

The blond nodded while his cousin waved her apology off, "It's okay… self-defense."

"Right." She nodded, "Well, I suppose you all want a back story of some sort, so I'll keep this quick. I'm an agent from Romulus And Remus Enforcement, otherwise known as R.A.R.E. I don't care if you think it's a stupid name-" she glared at Hikaru and Kaoru who instantly closed their mouths, "-because that's not important. My organization specializes in raising and training children to protect others all around the world. We do things such as breaking up sex-trafficking rings and hate groups, chasing kidnappers, and…" she glanced at Kyoya once again, "protecting those in danger of being assassinated and/or murdered."

Tamaki gripped Kyoya's sleeve a little tighter, but the ravenet didn't respond.

"You might not have heard about us before, but that's only because you're rather young. My organization has actually played a bigger part in most of your lives than you might know at this time. I've read your files. Tamaki?"

The blond looked up hesitantly, and Livia felt her stomach lurch unpleasantly when he wouldn't meet her eyes, opting instead to stare off somewhere by her left shoulder, "Your father, mother, and even yourself were all once protected by R.A.R.E. agents."

"I… I don't think-"

"Perhaps you recall a certain extravagant woman from your childhood? Blond?"

He shut his mouth, looking at her shoes with his eyebrows creased and his eyes wide. He didn't need to say it. They knew.

"Hikaru and Kaoru had someone protecting them their whole lives, too. You just never realized it."

"Who?" They asked immediately. Another painful lurch in her stomach almost had Livia grimace. The red heads were meeting her eyes at least, but that only made it easier to see how upset they were. Livia's story of being an agent was…a betrayal to them. A lie.

She swallowed, "I can't say. But they care a lot about you. That babysitter you had when you were younger? The one who stole from your family's safe? The agent was there, watching over you. They made a split second decision to see how you would handle her… and they were impressed. And proud. By the way, the reason you never saw that nanny after she fled was because the agent had her caught almost immediately after she fled into the woods."

The twins didn't respond. Their hands were clasped together so tightly their knuckles were turning white.

"And finally, myself protecting Yuuichi Ootori, Kyoya's eldest brother." Kyoya didn't even shift. "It was after he came up with the aqua garden idea. I was the only agent not on mission with even the slightest idea of how to speak Japanese, so they sent me to be tutored by Kyoya's other brother and keep an eye on Yuuichi. And now… I'm here to protect Kyoya. Because someone wants him dead."

Livia looked around. At her last word, everyone's face somehow went a little paler. Haruhi scooted forward a little, raising a hand to catch Livia's attention. The action almost pulled a smile from the American. Still a student, even outside of the classroom.

"Haruhi?"

"Um… do you know why someone wants to kill Kyoya-senpai?"

" _I'm pretty sure I can come up with a good long list if you give me a couple minutes…_ " Livia lets out a breath before saying a little louder, "I have a theory that it might be the patriarch of Grand Tonnerre. After all, once the story about how a high school student was able to buy a whole company out from underneath Grand Tonnerre, the company was basically flushed down the tubes. Many of their future prospects and current business enterprises fell through. They're hanging on by a thread as it is. And all because of Kyoya. Not to mention the humiliation of having one Tamaki Suoh rejecting the heir of Grand Tonnerre for someone in the middle class."

Haruhi blinked, "Is that why…"

"Yeah. That's why they placed me where they did, as your neighbor. My supervisors thought that… you and the rest of the club could provide background information that would help me with the case."

Kyoya stood up sharply, nearly pulling Tamaki with him due to the tight grip on his sleeve, "We're leaving."

LIvia raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? On your own? You think you can run away from this?"

"I meant you and I." His grey eyes were narrowed until they were merely slits, his glasses just a hair away from glaring over. Livia noted how his hands were clenched into fists, trembling ever so slightly. "We're going to my house immediately and I'm having a word with my father."

Livia gave the rest of the host club one final glance before following the ravenet out of the music room. There were no goodbyes.

* * *

"Father! I need a word with you."

Perhaps it was in the sharp and angry way Kyoya spoke, or maybe his tense body language, but Yoshio Ootori didn't respond immediately. At first, he only stared at his youngest son as he stalked into the sitting room with Livia in tow. The older man's eyes flicked to the girl and back before turning away from where his other sons and his wife were sitting beside the fireplace.

"Kyoya? What is it?"

"I would like to know why you thought I didn't deserve to know someone wanted me dead!"

Instant silence. Kyoya's mother, Noa, clasped her hands over her mouth to stifle a squeak, her eyes wide and fearful as she looked between her husband and her youngest son. Yuuichi set his teacup down slowly, eyeing Kyoya warily.

Aikio spoke first, also lowering his teacup, "Kyoya, you realize how paranoid that sounds, correct? Were you and your…" he eyed Livia from her spot a little behind Kyoya, "...friends watching American movie-"

"Aikio, silence."

Everyone turned to stare at Yoshio. The fireplace was now sending dark shadows over his face, but it was clear he currently only had eyes for one person.

"I thought we agreed not to tell him."

Livia didn't even flinch, though the corner of her mouth did twitch into what was almost a look of amusement, "I didn't say jack shit, Ootori. Your son figured it out himself… if not coming to the wrong conclusion. By the way, you owe me a raise. Kyoya set Haninozuka and Morinozuka on me under the assumption I was the assassin."

"Assassin?" Yuuichi and Aikio looked thoroughly confused, but no one was paying them much attention.

Despite the muscle starting to twitch in his father's cheek, Kyoya took another step forward, "My life hangs in the balance and you don't even think I have the right to know about it? Did you think I wouldn't figure it out? That I somehow wouldn't see the pattern of my sudden surge of near-death experiences?"

" _You didn't realize when a sniper shot at your head in the Aqua Garden._ "

Kyoya ignored her, his hands shaking again, "And then you brought in _her!_ And told her to follow me around to make sure I wasn't shot at! When were you going to tell me?"

"Never!" Yoshio took in a steadying breath before continuing, "I had never planned on telling you. We had never planned on telling Yuuichi either, but circumstances arose-"

"So you would've waited until masked men were storming our home before saying they were after _me?_ "

Yuuichi stood up hastily, knocking his teacup off his lap where it then shattered on the floor, "Wait… does that mean that…" he was pointing at Livia, but couldn't seem to find the right words. She nodded, confirming that she had protected him all those year beforehand, but kept her eyes on the escalating argument before her.

"You didn't need to know. It was the easiest way to keep you safe and not announce to the whole world that you were a target."

"I've had a figurative target painted on the back of my head since you announced I was to be your heir! Anyone in their right mind would understand a sudden increase of security! But you wouldn't dare do that if it gave off any sort of indication that you were scared! Because you'd be damned to show to anyone that you actually love your children!"

Kyoya screwed up his eyes and tensed, preparing himself for the hit. He had seen his father's arm moving before he even finished his sentence and knew what was coming next.

But the slap never came.

"Release. My. Wrist. _Girl._ "

Kyoya opened his eyes, stepping back in shock. Livia was no longer standing behind him. Now she was between Kyoya and his father, holding Yoshio's wrist in a tight grip and glaring at the man with a look that would've horrified a lesser man.

"No."

"You have no _right-_ "

"I have every right. Unless I'm mistaken, _you_ hired _me_ for the sole purpose of protecting your son. And _I_ will be the judge of what that entails." Livia released his wrist, shoving the man a few paces back simultaneously, "Whilst I am here, _absolutely no harm will come to Kyoya._ From _anyone_. Have I made myself clear?"

Kyoya had never seen his father look angrier than he did in that instant.

Then the moment passed, "Very well. Are there any other… _addendums_ you are adding to our contract with this change in circumstance?"

Livia's eyes flashed murderously, but her voice remained cool and controlled as she pointed at Yoshio, "You're giving me a raise," at Noa, "Please get yourself a glass of water, Ma'am, you look faint," and finally at Kyoya, "And you…"

He was staring at her in shock and that… _something_ was still echoing deep within his eyes. Livia did her best to ignore the look.

"You are under house arrest for the rest of the weekend. Under no circumstances are you allowed off the premises. I'll alert your bodyguards, and you will have at least one of them at your side for the remainder of this mission whenever I am not around. And _y_ _es_ , that includes your house and your drives to and from school." And with that, she marched out of the sitting room.

Hesitating in the hallway, she poked her head back in, finding all the Ootori's still staring at her, "And Mr. Ootori? I feel the sudden need to remind you that I have cameras in place throughout your house. So if anything goes awry…" she tapped the side of her head, "I shall know."

Making her way to the front door, she quickly slipped her outdoor shoes on. Shigeru was standing by the door, staring at her in shock. Internally, she sighed. There was no way he hadn't heard the shouts from the sitting room. Soon enough the entire Ootori wait staff would know… and none of them would want to have anything to do with Livia again.

At this point, she felt numb to it. Why not? Why not sever every tie she had to her fake 'normal life' in the same night? Why the _fuck not?_

Even so, she tried her best to give the older man at least a small smile as she calmly requested, "Shigeru-san? Could you please inform Choshi-san that he has the weekend off?"

"Of... course, Ma'am."

"Trasic-san?"

She turned around just as Shigeru walked off. Kyoya was standing a good ten feet away, his face devoid of all expression.

"What?"

"Where… where do we go from here?"

She didn't want to think of everything he was implying. She didn't care about their developing friendship, or her relationships with the other club members… or Kyoya's personal feelings about the girl he thought he knew.

Instead, she opened the front door and threw over her shoulder, "Well, since you royally screwed up my original plan, I suppose I'll just have to wing it and hope you don't die. Sleep tight."

 _SLAM!_

Sighing, she leaned against the front door of the Ootori Mansion for a couple seconds. The night was dark and oddly peaceful in comparison to the metaphorical hurricane going on indoors. Livia couldn't help but wonder how long Kyoya would remain standing in the foyer, staring at the front doors. Or if Mrs. Ootori had gotten her water already, the poor woman perhaps assuming that the request had been a demand and she would be punished if it was not done.

She grimaced at the sharp twist of her gut. Pulling her recorder out of her school bag, she stared at it for a moment. With a sigh, she held it closer.

* * *

...End Log.

* * *

 **Um... yeah. I hope this is a good apology for the tardiness.**

 **If you liked, please favorite, follow, and leave a review!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	16. Log 14

**Hey everyone… how'd you enjoy that last chapter?**

 **Thank you to Momochan77, AusllyBeliever, Paige McCarthy, XBnemisisX, Cookies16, queenglitch, havarti2, Luscil l l, and christineblossom03 for your reviews! I'm happy to see you all still interested in my stories!**

 **Disclaimer: I only own Livia and the idea of R.A.R.E. And considering she gave me an A on my final project for my Creative Writing class, I'm pretty darn proud of her right now.**

* * *

 _ **GaijinPot Complex in Bunkyo-ku**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Apartment Room 204**_

 _ **1502 hours**_

* * *

Look, I'm gonna make this really short.

Kyoya's still on house arrest, currently sulking in his bedroom. He's been lounging on his couch with a book for an hour, but hasn't done much reading from the looks of it.

I've also done more research on the Grand Tonnerre patriarch. After getting through a couple firewalls, I've found bank statements and business day schedules showing he recently took out a rather large sum of cash and had an oddly blank moment in his schedule from a couple months ago. So… yeah, all signs point to 'yes' on him. The arresting stuff will be left up to our legal team, now.

And that's all for this Satur-

 _Are you_ _fucking kidding me?_

* * *

The brunette practically threw her recorder down on the table, stalking towards the front door with fire in her eyes. Hastily undoing the lock, she pulled the door open, "I swear if you're taking me on-"

She stopped, staring at her neighbor.

"Morning, Livia-senpai."

"...Morning, Haruhi. I'm sorry… the rest of the club isn't with you, are they?"

"No. It's just me this time. Can we talk?"

Letting out a breath, the agent nodded and stepped back, letting Haruhi inside for the first time. It wasn't like she hadn't expected this.

As she locked the door behind the other brunette, Livia watched as Haruhi silently took the room in. It was obvious in her body language exactly when she recognized the equipment that had been left on the table for what it really was. Glancing back at Livia over her shoulder, Haruhi waited for permission.

"Go ahead and sit. Not like I have to hide it from you, anymore." Only nodding in return, Haruhi walked over and sat down. Livia saw her big brown eyes glance over at the open laptop. She didn't seem surprised at the view of Kyoya's bedroom on screen.

Nothing was said for another few seconds before Livia cleared her throat, "Want some tea?" At the other's second nod, the brunette quickly filled a teapot and set it on the stove before taking a seat on Haruhi's left.

 _Well, might as well get this over with._ "I take it you're upset and want to shout at me for a bit? I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"No…" Haruhi shifted in her seat, "I'm more… confused. Or, well, okay- I guess I'm a little upset as well that you lied, but I feel like I don't know enough of the story to be mad about it. Yet."

Livia nodded, though she was more than a little relieved Haruhi wasn't here to scream at her. Despite everything, she liked the short brunette. Probably more than she should as a temporary visitor.

Throwing caution to the wind, she sat back in her chair and gestured around the apartment, "Well, as this is one of the few safe places to talk about my job in this whole city, what would you like to know? If it's something I'm allowed to tell you, I will. If it's not, please know it's not my choice or a reflection on you."

"Okay." Haruhi looked around the room, probably to sort through the million questions she had. Livia attempted to ready herself for the onslaught. "First question… what's your real name?"

"Livia Trasic. I did not lie about my name, my hair color, my eye color, or other physical features." A nod and Haruhi's shoulders relaxing was the response. Livia could understand. At least Haruhi didn't have to completely start over getting to know her neighbor, and there was no chance of slipping up either way.

"Next, what else about you do I know that true...and what did you make up?"

"Oof, a little harder. Well, I am from America. But I'm not rich. I don't have parents… they died a long time ago." Haruhi's hand stretched across the table, but she hesitated just short of touching Livia, "When they were alive, we were middle class. I do like history class and all the little non important stuff I told my guests, but the bigger stuff I had to lie about."

"Family. What can you tell me."

The brunette stiffened in her seat, " _What can I tell you…_ for one, I can spare you the sob story and jump straight to what I have now. I have a little brother, and I'm close to another family of four kids who I refer to as my brothers and sister. There's also my old mentor I call every month and visit whenever I'm in the same country, and… a couple who I visit whenever I can. Can't tell you their names, though."

Haruhi nodded slowly. Livia remained quiet, just letting her neighbor soak it in. She knew Haruhi's mother had passed away when she was younger, which might be why Livia got along so well with her neighbor. Despite everything else, they had at least some similar trauma in their past. It wasn't a happy thought, but it connected them through something most people couldn't and wouldn't replicate.

"You mentioned your mentor that you sometimes visit. Do they live in Japan?"

"Can't answer that."

"What do you talk about?"

"My mission at the time or whatever I didn't tell them over the phone."

"What do they do?" At the arched eyebrow she received as an answer, she shrugged, "Well… if they're no longer an agent like you… what do they do? What kind of jobs are available for people with your… skill set?"

"They're a technical engineer. And there's more jobs than you might think. Lawyers, translators, ambassadors, businessmen and women, teachers, mechanics, police, army generals, bodyguards… almost anything you can think of. A lot of agents have their own hobbies and interests outside of the job, too. I personally know three retired agents who are now doctors at the Ootori hospital in town, and another who's a carpenter up in Sweden."

The teapot let out a harsh whistle from the stove, a thin cloud of steam escaping through the hole at the spout as the two girls jumped. Excusing herself, the older brunette shut the burner off and pulled out a pair of teacups. Say what you will about the temporary bases, but Livia had never had one that didn't include the essentials.

Setting the cups down on the table, Livia collapsed back into her chair and returned her attention to her neighbor. Haruhi was staring at the teacup in front of her, not making a move to grab it.

"I didn't poison it, y'know." Haruhi jolted in her seat, eyes wide as she began stuttering out an apology. Livia smacked her forehead before shaking a hand in front of her face, "Ho-Hold up, Haruhi. Stop apologizing. It's just a joke I make back home. I know you didn't actually think that."

As her neighbor calmed down Livia reprimanded herself. Haruhi was no doubt a little on edge with her being a deadly agent. It wasn't helping to joke around with topics like that.

So instead she just sat quietly with her own tea, waiting for Haruhi to ask her next question.

"You said… that Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki had all been protected before. Can you tell me who?"

Livia hesitated, thinking over her answer, "I… can't. The twins are going to have a hard time enough when they find out without one of their closest friends keeping the secret from them as well." The brunette sighed. If Hikaru and Kaoru were already upset at her lying about being an agent… how would they react learning their own-

"And Tamaki? The blond that you mentioned?"

"Oh, yeah." The American shook her head with a small smile, "Yeah, never met her personally, but from what I've heard she's… she's a little… I have a feeling she's kind of the reason for Tamaki's personality."

"If you don't know her personally, how do you know she protected Tamaki?"

Livia gestured vaguely towards her bedroom, where the rest of her equipment and papers waited, "It's in Tamaki's files."

"Files?"

"Yeah. For every mission, files are either pulled or created for every civilian that will be a part of the initial introduction. I have files for the immediate Ootori family, the Host Club, your dad, and the neighbors on either side of my apartment. It's not exactly uncommon to come into contact with someone who's been protected before. It helps a bit when you're getting ready to ship out. I listened to a few of her recordings to hear about Tamaki's personality. Then again, he was only a toddler, but it gave me a decent grasp on how he grew up, at least."

Haruhi nodded along, not seeming too put off with the knowledge that Livia had a personal file on her and her dad. Her next question was actually on a completely different subject.

"So, you have to make recordings?"

"Yeah." Livia reached across the table and grabbed her recorder, holding it out for Haruhi to inspect, "They're for cataloging missions and retaining information. I've had this on my person since I was assigned this case. When I get back home, they'll download everything it picked up and transcribe what they can. Makes it easier for those who are hard of hearing or can't speak a certain language or if someone's looking for a specific piece of information."

Haruhi turned the device around in her hands, not pressing any of the buttons, "Wow. Wait… you said you've had this on you at all times?"

"Yeah. I can 'start' and 'end' logs whenever I want, but that's only for my personal commentary. Even when I'm not talking or even awake, it's still recording. Most transcripting only does the personal logs, though. Unless something important happens outside of the agent's commentary. And we're supposed to make mandatory Saturday logs, which is what I was doing before you came in."

Haruhi had set the recorder down, her cheeks a little flushed with embarrassment, "So… you were recording us when we teased you about…"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

Haruhi managed a little laugh and an 'I'm sorry' before taking a big sip of tea. Livia shook her head, a smile worming its way onto her face. Haruhi was honestly adorable.

"So…" Haruhi coughed, her cheeks dusted with a soft pink, "Speaking of Kyoya, if he's in danger, shouldn't you be around him? I mean, I know you've got a video of him, but aren't you worried something will happen when you're not around?"

"Good question. Can you push that over here?"

Haruhi did as she was asked, scooting her chair closer to Livia's so she could watch as the agent began flipping through the many different cameras she had placed around the Ootori Mansion, "I placed Kyoya on house-arrest for the weekend after that little stunt he pulled yesterday. He's not permitted to leave the Ootori Mansion, and the only people allowed inside are me, the family, the staff, and the Host Club. If you look here, all the entrances are monitored, as are the surrounding grounds. If someone enters or leaves the property, I will know. I've got facial recognition for just that purpose. If it catches someone crossing the boundary that doesn't have my permission, I get an alert on both my recorder and my computer."

"Geez. You're really on top of you game, aren't you?"

"I have to be. This isn't something I can half-ass."

She knew Haruhi was staring at her, but didn't comment on it. If her neighbor had something to say, she'd say it eventually. Haruhi wasn't exactly known for holding her tongue. So it was no surprise when the other brunette suddenly sat back in her chair and asked yet another question.

"You never got to really be a normal teenager, huh?"

"What gave it away?"

Haruhi's lips twitched in the semblance of a smile, "If you wouldn't mind, I've missed being able to hang out with someone relatively normal."

"Oh, so suddenly I'm normal?"

A shrug, "More normal than the rich people I talk to almost every day. Would you mind?"

Livia thought it over. She didn't exactly have anything to work on. All that was left to do was make sure Kyoya didn't leave the house. Glancing down at her empty teacup, she decided…

"How bad could it be? What did you have in mind?"

Haruhi gave her a bigger smile, pleased, "Have you ever experienced Harry Potter?"

"No, not really. I got a few chapters into the first book when I was twelve, but I never got the chance to pick it up again. To be honest, there are a lot of pop culture things I missed out on. I managed to watch Supernatural, Firefly, and Fringe on my roommate's laptop, but that's about it."

Her neighbor's eyes sparkled, "You're in for a treat. Get your television set up. I'm going to grab some movies."

* * *

Well, Haruhi just left. I think I'm going to be busy for a few hours.

And for anyone who thinks I shouldn't have told her anything, please familiarize yourself with Article 329 Subsection 14 of R.A.R.E.'s constitution. She and her friends came to the truth themselves, even if it wasn't completely correct, and I didn't answer anything I wasn't allowed to.

Doesn't seem like there's anything else for me to say.

End log.

* * *

 **I kinda wanted to add in who used to protect Hikaru and Kaoru, but now that I think about it the suspense will be much better this way. Another Saturday log, this one a little shorter than the others. But I hope you enjoyed it anyways.**

 **If you liked it, please favorite, follow, and leave a review!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	17. Log 15

**FINALLY! Finally I'm updating again! For those of you who don't know, I've been a little busy as of late, mostly with school and extracurriculars. And I'm officially traveling to Japan this summer for a few weeks! I'm really excited!**

 **Anyways, thank you to AusllyBeliever, XBnemisisX, queenglitch, Momochan77, havarti2, Amarenima Redwood, Paige McCarthy, and Kagayaku Hoshi-chan for your reviews! I'm so sorry for how long my updates are taking! I've got… a lot on my plate.**

 **And welcome to my page Kagayaku Hoshi-chan! I hope you're liking my other stories just as much as this one!**

 **Disclaimer: I only own Livia Trasic, and I love her to death!**

* * *

 _ **Tokyo Metro System**_

 _ **Exact location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Green line**_

 _ **0732 hours**_

* * *

The train barely jostled as it sped along the tracks, early morning sunlight streaming through the windows and covering the floor with yellow light. Livia let her green eyes be dragged across the scenery, trying to keep herself from focusing on any one passing object in particular. For something that sounded so easy it was actually rather difficult.

A soft hum of amusement broke her concentration, directing Livia's gaze downwards to the seat in front of her. Haruhi smiled up at her, a teasing look in her own eyes. Livia allowed her lips to curl ever so slightly before looking back up. Giving up on her little game, she let her head rest against the metal pole she was holding onto and just enjoyed the view.

The early morning train wasn't as crowded as Japanese myths might have you believe, but there was a low drone of chatter from the other occupants. Quiet enough, everyone's presence somehow dulled in the same drowsy morning feeling.

Unfortunately, that gave Livia ample time to think about what waited for her at Ouran Academy.

Something nudged at her foot and Livia looked down again. Haruhi leaned forward a little, head tilted ever so slightly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"It's okay to be nervous."

"I know. The boys are going to be…" She takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, "Thank you."

"Of course." Haruhi slowly reached out and, after giving Livia time to pull away if need be, gently squeezed her forearm. A small form of grounding that Livia appreciated more than she could say.

In all honesty, she was surprised at how quickly she'd regained Haruhi's trust during their little chat yesterday. It left a nice, warm feeling in her chest. And after spending hours in each other's company, talking about anything or nothing or no talking at all, Livia felt… _close_ to Haruhi.

She rapidly blinked and looked away, her chest feeling a little tight.

The two didn't speak again until they got off the train, another thing that Livia appreciated. Haruhi was one of the few people she'd ever met who immediately understood her distrust of crowds, especially of complete strangers. And not just the expected reason, either. Livia just prefered to stay silent around people she didn't know. No need for anyone to overhear anything.

But once Livia and Haruhi had escaped the train station crowds and felt, for all the world, alone, they relaxed into small talk. Livia smiled softly as Haruhi lead the conversation, sharing her plans for the day. It was nice. It was calm. It was orderly.

"So, how far did you get in Philosopher's Stone?"

"Uh…" Livia cleared her throat, a bigger smile appearing on her face, "I'm actually… almost done with it."

Haruhi's responding laugh was immediate, her head falling back a little in delight. A few seconds into it and Livia found herself wanting to join in. So she did.

Her laughter was much softer than Haruhi's. A little breathy, more of an amused sound rather than actual humor. It was… comforting. To feel amused, that is. Amusement, to Livia, meant being relaxed and familiar. It wasn't a feeling she associated with anyone other than the people she already knew. To feel such a way in a less than 100% familiar environment… it was freeing.

From there the two neighbors started discussing Haruhi loaning the second book to Livia and any other series that she might enjoy. They probably wouldn't have even realized they'd reached Ouran's campus were it not for the huge gates... and Tamaki turning tail and running into the school building as soon as he spotted Livia.

The girls paused in the middle of the grounds, staring after him. There had been no mistaking his expression or pale face. Haruhi looked up at her friend. Livia's smile had disappeared.

Heart clutching in sympathy, Haruhi carefully laid a hand on Livia's upper arm, "Hey, Livia-senpai? How about I talk to the boys? Maybe I can-"

She was cut off without so much as a warning, Hikaru's hand clasped tightly over her mouth as he and Kaoru dragged her away from Livia as fast as they could. The girl left standing alone barely caught a venomous glare sent her way before the three first-years disappeared from sight.

Livia stood still for a moment, something inside of her shrivelling up and dying. Other Ouran students drifted by her, not at all bothered by the exchange student in their midst any longer, or her stoic expression. No one saw how sharp her breath was, or her frantic blinks.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Livia robotically made her way into the building as well. Not meeting anyone's eyes, she slipped unnoticed into the first bathroom she could find.

* * *

What is… what is happening right now?

I… my chest hurts so much. They just… they looked so _angry._

I don't understand…

What is wrong with me?

I should be used to this. I usually make people hate me so they avoid me while I work but… but they hated only my character. This time… they hate _me._

…

Why does that eats at me so badly?

* * *

Three minutes later and the first bell of the day rang out. Through the bathroom door Livia could hear the dull chatter growing into a roar as the students outside hurried to their classes.

For a brief moment of insanity Livia considered skipping for the day. Not dealing with the host club seemed like a dream come true at the moment.

Of course, soon the idea passed and she stood up off the floor. A small part of her brain mentally thanked the janitorial staff at the school for keeping everything so clean that she could sit on a bathroom floor and not feel incredibly gross. Straightening her hair and ignoring the way her eyes were tentatively bloodshot, she rejoined the masses in the hallway.

It wasn't a surprise to Livia that Tamaki's face went pale once again when she entered the classroom. She didn't even bother to look at him, other than out of her peripherals, and hastily made her way back to the seat she'd had on the first day. With the egg project over and done with, she could go back to placing a full three desks in between her and her Charge.

Looking at Kyoya was going to be a no-go for today, too.

"Hey!"

Livia looked up from her desk, managing a small smile for Anami. Any sign of friendship was going to feel like a healing balm today. "Hello."

The other girl's smile faded, "Are… you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Your eyes look a little red."

Livia turned away, "It's nothing."

"...Did you and Ootori-san have a fight?"

"..."

"Argument?"

"...Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Well, you look upset and I just noticed he's kinda… glaring at you."

"Figures."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Livia finally looked up again, giving the girl a bigger smile, "It's sweet of you to offer, really… but I don't think it's something I can talk about with you. And I mean that in the kindest way possible. I do appreciate it, though."

Anami returned the smile before spinning around in her seat, just in time for Chikamatsu-sensei to walk in through the doors, "Alright, everyone! If you could all take your seats I'll be handing back your project scores before we begin our lesson for today!"

Livia sank back into her seat, shutting her eyes for a moment. So far the day wasn't turning out _as_ horrible as she'd anticipated. There were at least two people who still wanted to talk to her. That would have to be enough.

Chikamatsu-sensei walked around the classroom, handing back the grading sheet one student at a time and Livia relaxed further. Despite everything that had gone on, Livia felt like she handled the project very well. The little yolk had become a baby chick without a hitch and, as Livia understood it, was now happily living on a little farm outside of town. She kinda wished she'd been able to observe it more often other than to write down a few lines about the progress, but what else could she do with her job? At least she and Kyoya had met _once_ during the project and she knew he would've crafted perfect conversations that-

Livia's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the paper in her hands.

ふか。

Fail.

 _What?_

There were only zeros on the page, for every single segment. Writing, execution, partnership... at the top of the page there was a second note in Chikamatsu-sensei's handwriting.

'See me.'

 _...What?!_

She'd _never_ failed an assignment! Not anywhere! Even with the shit schools back home Livia had never gotten a score below a C! What had happened?

Livia was still staring at her paper when Chikamatsu-sensei returned to the front of the room. Something about being impressed with most of the projects, as many of them had received A's, if not B's. Livia swallowed, frantically thinking back. She swore she remembered to turn in the project. And it wasn't like Kyoya to forget something so trivial, either! What had happened? Had she gotten the wrong paper?

"Now, if you would all please… balance… these… equations while I speak with a few students out in the hallway." Chikamatsu-sensei finished writing six chemical equations on the whiteboard before capping her marker and turning back around, "Let's start with Trasic-san and Ootori-san. If you would?"

Still holding her paper, not trusting her classmates to not take a quick peek, Livia stood up out of her chair and followed her Charge and teacher out of the classroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tamaki staring off after them with obvious fear in his eyes.

Making sure she wasn't standing too close to Kyoya, Livia waited for Chikamatsu-sensei to speak. The woman sighed, an almost sad expression on her face as she eyed her students.

"Trasic-san, might I ask why you refused to meet with Ootori-san for your project?"

Livia's jaw dropped. _No… no, he fucking didn't._ She couldn't help but turn to her Charge, who was still facing forward. He looked almost _smug._

 _He fucking did._

Her hands shook, barely repressing the urge to pummel the boy into unconsciousness, "Oh… so suddenly it was _my_ idea? That's how you want to play? I see. Did you lie to Sensei in person or did you stick it into your report? How convenient that you just so _happened_ to gloss over the fact you started this project by stating you didn't want to work with a ' _novice_ '?"

"A novice though you may be, I was more than willing to meet with you to discuss the project as was our instructions-"

"Bull! Working apart was _your_ idea, _Ootori!_ Trying to sabotage my grades? Are you really so pathetic?"

" _Pathetic?!_ "

"Stop!"

Chikamatsu-sensei held up her hands, ready to put herself in between her students. Her eyes wide as she looked between them. The paper in Trasic-san's hands had been torn ever so slightly in her tight grip, and Ootori-san looked like he was preparing himself for a _fight_ , for goodness sakes! She had never seen any teenagers look at each other with so much hatred and mistrust, let alone her quiet exchange student and the Ootori Group's heir!

When she was no longer worried that the two students would start arguing again, Chikamatsu sighed and lowered her arms, "I must say that I'm greatly disappointed in the both of you. This project was meant to teach you and your classmates how to work together, even if you don't necessarily like the other. It's a skill that you will all need for your future careers. To dismiss such a clear instruction… to formulate a plan to lie to your teacher, and then lie _again_ to make it sound like you're coming clean? Ootori-san, I never expected something like this from you. And Trasic-san, I would've assumed that an exchange student would try to show better behavior whilst acting as an ambassador to their home country."

The teenagers finally stopped glaring at each other, becoming oddly fascinated with the wall they could spot just behind their teacher's head. Neither could maintain eye contact with her. Livia might not have had anything to really worry about grade wise, but she liked Chikamatsu-sensei as a teacher. To disappoint her felt… bad. And Kyoya had never been chastised by a teacher before. This was a new experience. One he did not wish to replicate ever again.

Sensei gave another deep sigh, "As I'd rather not give my two brightest students failing grades due to a mere… _argument_ , I'll give you two another shot at it. Since I don't have any fertilized chicken eggs with me at the moment, you'll restart the project next Monday, but you must do it _right_ this time. No cutting corners. I don't know what caused such animosity between you, but for the sake of your family's businesses and your grades, please put some effort into working together. Do you understand?"

The teenagers nodded their heads, still unable to look her in the eye.

"Excellent. You may rejoin your classmates."

Livia waited for Kyoya turn walk back into the room before following. Another hot spike was driven into her stomach at the expression of sheer _relief_ on Tamaki's face as he welcomed his friend back to his seat. Only for the look to regress back into fear upon spotting her.

Biting at her bottom lip, Livia kept her head down for the rest of the school day. She didn't speak to anyone besides Anami, and didn't even bother trying to sneak into the lunch room. Even if Haruhi wanted to sit and talk to her, no doubt the hosts would stop her.

Then Livia discovered a funny thing about being exiled. Which was, after being sad and hurt for an extended period of time, the one being exiled became overwhelmed with anger and rebellion.

Or perhaps that was just her.

Regardless, by the time the last bell rang and Tamaki was dragging Kyoya out the door, Livia was _done_ with the attitudes. Not bothering to rush, she calmly packed up her things, bade a good evening to Anami, and made her way up to Music Room #3.

As she had anticipated, the doors were shut when she reached them. Silently, she placed her hand on the handle and slowly pushed down. It gave.

With that she pushed it down the whole way and opened the door. Not to her surprise, two blurs shot at her from inside the room and threw themselves at her chest, intending to knock her backwards. Livia merely shoved the Hitachiin twins to the side and shut the door behind her, walking further into the room.

Haruhi gave the other girl a small wave, but Livia was unable to return it due to the twins grabbing her arms and trying to drag her back to the door.

"What are you _doing_ here?"

"Get out!"

"No."

"Y-yes!"

Livia raised an eyebrow, not spotting Tamaki at first, despite how the voice clearly belonged to him. He wasn't by Haruhi, or by Honey and Mori, who were staring at her with blank faces. Then his face slowly peeked around Kyoya's shoulder's, Tamaki's hands clearly shaking as they gripped the other's jacket.

"Y-you… you n-need to leave. N-now!"

"Yeah, _right._ " Livia shook the twins off yet again, "I'd like to see you try."

The blond squeaked, ducking further behind his friend, "A-as King of-"

"I wouldn't care what you said even if you were the goddamn Emperor. I'm not leaving. And even if you somehow _did_ manage to ban me, who'd be around to keep Ootori here alive, hm? Or, do you prefer your friends in coffins?"

She looked around, daring someone to argue. When no one did, she gave them a shrug before collapsing into a nearby chair.

Hikaru was immediately in front of her, hands shaking just as badly as Tamaki's, but not quite for the same reason, "This is harassment! We clearly don't want you around, so why bother tormenting us? You can't _force_ your company on us!"

"I can, and I will, Hitachiin. But don't you go worrying your pretty little heads about it, as soon as this job's done I'm _gone._ You'll never see me again."

"Good."

"Is that a promise?"

Livia screwed her face up into the most sour expression she could manage, "It is. I reserve the right to deny jobs, even if they request me. Besides, why the hell would I want to protect people who hate me, anyways?"

Hikaru crossed his arms, a sneer curling his lips, "I suppose that makes sense, because we _do_ hate you, y'know."

The room fell quiet for a moment, Livia locked in a staring contest with the eldest twin. She could detect betrayal and hurt in his face… but also a dash of sincerity. And damn if that didn't hurt.

His expression barely had time to flicker before Livia was looking away again, casually pulling out her homework from her bag, "I know. You've made it pretty damn obvious today. Now go away. Get ready for your guests and pretend I don't exist. I'll be easier on everyone."

She was surprised her voice didn't shake.

* * *

Livia slowly tapped her eraser against her thigh, eyes double checking her math answers. She'd finished all of her other homework, so what else was there to do? She didn't have any guests for the day, and it wasn't like she could people-watch, either.

Whenever her eyes left the papers in front of her, Livia found herself on the receiving end of glares, frightened glances, or a mixture of the two. It was a surprise to her that none of the guests had caught on, as clueless as most of them were.

 _They're not exactly trying to hide it._

Finding no issues with her math, Livia packed it away and pulled out a loose sheet of paper. On it was a rough sketch of a schedule for after club hours. It only spanned about half an hour, but she still frowned at it, looking for another corner to cut.

" _Haruhi! Stop!_ "

"Tamaki? What is it?"

" _Shhh!_ "

 _Well, that sounds interesting._

Pretending to be preoccupied, Livia darked one of the lines on the paper as she listened intently.

" _Tamaki, what are you doing?_ "

" _You were about to walk to Trasic-san!_ "

"Yeah, I know. I want to talk to her-"

" _No! Haruhi, you have to be careful! She-_ "

"No, Tamaki. Enough. I'm not afraid of her, and you shouldn't be either."

"But-"

"No, buts! She's keeping Kyoya safe. She's saved his life more than once since she got here and she's still doing it even though you're all being rude to her. The only reason you're acting like this is because she can do things that you can't and is good at keeping secrets."

"Haruhi, we don't know her whole story! She might-"

"Well, maybe if you just talked to her and didn't act like she's the grim reaper coming to take you away, you might learn some things about her! I spent all weekend with her, Tamaki, and we talked _a lot._ And besides, if she was here to kill us she would've done it by now. She's not what you think she is."

The conversation ended with the sound of shoes clicking on tile floors, gradually growing louder as the wearer approached Livia's chair. She looked up just as Haruhi peered over at the paper still in Livia's hand, "What's that?"

"Just a schedule. Kyoya and I have to redo our science project because he tried to sabotage my grade. So since we'll have to meet up after club activities every day for a few weeks, I came up with a way to do it where we spend minimal amounts of time together."

Haruhi's expression faltered, but after glancing over her shoulder at Kyoya who was roughly packing his own school bag, she offered a shrug, "Now that I think about it, that's probably a good idea. So, you ready to leave?"

"Yeah. Just gotta…" Her voice trailed off upon noticing a presence hesitating on the edge of the conversation.

Haruhi, noticing Livia's hesitation, followed her line of sight and blinked, "Honey-senpai? Mori-senpai?" At her prompting, the two cousins moved closer. Honey's arms were tightly wrapped around his stuffed bunny. It was obvious that they were a little nervous… but they weren't glaring at Livia and clearly weren't avoiding her. That was a good sign.

The boys stopped just a few steps in front of Livia's chair and an awkward silence fell between them all. Livia took a breath, a truckload of guilt slamming into her stomach when Friday's memories came back to her.

Standing up, Livia bowed at the waist towards the third years, nibbling at the inside of her lip before announcing, "I want to apologize. I know I frightened you badly the last time we spoke, and I'm sorry. I felt incredibly guilty about threatening you, Honey-senpai, and I just want you to know that I'd never purposefully put you or Mori-senpai in danger."

"We forgive you."

Livia straightened up, effectively confused, "...Really?"

"Mhm!" Honey nodded, "Takashi and I talked over the weekend, too. And in the end… we figured that if you're here to keep Kyo-chan alive, then it's okay that you got mad at us. We tried to hurt you, and then made your job harder." Honey's smile wasn't as bright or overzealous, but it was still real.

Livia shoved another flood of emotions down as she offered a small smile in return, "I'm glad… and even though the circumstances weren't exactly the best… I'm glad I got the opportunity to spar with you both. I'd wanted to do that ever since I read your personal files, if I'm being honest."

"Really? We should do it again, then!"

"I…" Livia couldn't stop it. A huge grin appeared on her face as she looked between the two boys, "You'd do that? You want to?"

Honey paused, wide eyes taking in the big smile on Livia's face. He was just realizing it now… but he'd never seen her wearing an honest smile before. Even though he and Takashi had already spent hours _reasoning_ that Livia was a good person and just a regular teenager… there was a big difference between that and actually _seeing_ it.

Mori, however, answered her questions with a small smile of his own and a nod. Livia let out a breathy laugh, unable to believe such a crappy day could end on a good note!

Scooping her bag up, she began leading the other three towards the front door, "Then we should probably start planning on a day to do that. The sooner the better!"

"Wait, Liv-chan?" Oh… her nickname. Actually, now that she thought about it, 'Liv-chan' did have a nice ring to it. "What about Kyo-chan?"

Livia hesitated for a moment, briefly glancing towards the other side of the room. The other half of the host club was standing a rather large distance away. Kyoya was the only one not looking in her direction.

"He'll be fine. He's safe on campus so long as he leaves when his driver and guards arrive. Why else do you think I let him leave alone most of the time?"

Honey tilted his head, "Liv-chan… how strong _are_ you?" Upon receiving a number of questioning looks, he turned his gaze to his feet, a blush on his cheeks, "Just curious…"

"...Haruhi? If I may?"

"Huh?" Haruhi looked at the hand Livia was holding out to her. She couldn't tell what was going on in Livia's head… but she trusted her. "Um… sure. What do you need?"

"I'm going to pick you up, if that's alright."

"Oh!" Haruhi blinked. She hadn't considered Livia might be strong enough to hold her. But that did sort of make sense. If Livia could throw Mori-senpai across the room and fight Honey-senpai head on, she had to be fairly strong.

Realizing Livia was still waiting for an answer, Haruhi set her school bag down on the floor and took her hand, "Sure. Go ahead."

Livia nodded. Then, out of nowhere, she crouched down and picked Haruhi up by her legs. Haruhi let out a yelp when she suddenly found herself sitting on Livia's shoulder. She was taller than Mori-senpai this way! One of Livia's hands was clasped around Haruhi's ankle while the other held her back to keep her steady.

Honey blinked before bursting into laughter, "That's so cool, Liv-chan! Could you hold me, too?"

"Yeah, probably. I had a number of kids use me as their personal playground when I was growing up. And they _still_ do it as teenagers."

"Um, that's really cool and all, but could you please put me down now? This isn't the most comfortable seat."

Letting out her own laugh, Livia carefully eased Haruhi back to the ground, "You still sound so unfazed! Sorry for the surprise, but you gotta admit… your faces were pretty funny."

Haruhi pushed Livia's shoulder before grabbing her bag, "Whatever. C'mon, I have homework to do."

The four finally walked out of the music room, and for the first time that whole day, Livia found herself caring a little less about the glares digging into her back as the doors closed.

* * *

 _Hmm, hmm, hmmmm…_

Okay, so I'm setting up the egg incubator… _again._ Thank goodness I didn't already return it to the school before I got my grade. _Honestly_ , what was Kyoya thinking? Does he _not_ realize that these grades don't really count against me? The only damage it could do is put a bad mark on _his_ school record! Yeah, I was upset at first when I thought it was _my_ fault, but my science teacher at R.A.R.E. takes most outside grades from partner projects with a grain of salt. Got that going for me, at least.

 _Ugh…_ why me?

Anyways, as little as I'm looking forward to this, at least I'll be given a tighter grip on Kyoya's schedule for the next few weeks. Y'know, just in case the boy decides to do something _remarkably_ stupid. Geez, you'd almost think he _wants_ to be shot.

I think that does it for today. Eng log.

* * *

 **Holy shit I got it done!**

 **I know this chapter doesn't have a lot of action, but I promise we'll get back to that really soon! (I'm honestly looking forward to writing the next chapter… it's gonna be fun. Foreshadowing FTW!).**

 **If you liked, please favorite, follow, and leave a review!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	18. Log 16

**I'M BACK FROM JAPAN! NOT HAPPY I'M BACK, BUT I'M BACK!**

 **My trip was amazing, but I'm also glad that I have some down time now to write for you guys once again. Thanks for waiting! Hopefully it'll be worth it!**

 **Thank you to Amarenima Redwood, Momochan77, readeronly76, ephemeral-times, AmbertheCat, Kagayaku Hoshi-chan, AusllyBeliever, and XBnemesisX for your reviews! I know the way Livia was treated in the last chapter kinda killed y'all, but I think you'll like this chapter. Or hate it. I dunno at this point.**

 **This chapter gets really emotionally intense and angsty. A little more so than any of the others. I still haven't found a good way to mark when it happens, but if you have some ideas for it then please let me know.**

 **Disclaimer: I only own Livia Trasic. Maybe I'll write a novel with her one day…**

* * *

 **Warnings: Public shooting, intense anxiety attack, mentions of death, suicide/homicide, pedophilia, and sex trafficking. If I missed anything, let me know and I'll add it to the warnings.**

* * *

 _ **Ootori Mansion**_

 _ **Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan**_

 _ **Kyoya Ootori's Bedroom**_

 _ **1302 hours**_

* * *

Kyoya hadn't moved in the past two hours.

He was sitting up on his bed, back leaning against the headboard and legs stretched out on the mattress, ankles crossed. A moderately thick book was in his hands, elbows pressed against his sides as he read.

Or, more like attempted to read.

When he realized he'd been staring at the same line for the past five minutes, not taking in a word of it, Kyoya finally gave in and snapped the book shut. Carelessly dropping it onto his nightstand, he let his head fall back against the wall. It was official. Kyoya was bored.

Rolling his head to the side, he looked down from his loft. The bright sunlight shining through the bay windows colored his whole room in a golden hue. He regarded his bookshelf, the homework he'd half-heartedly scattered across the small table, the black journal resting next to said homework… nope. The longer Kyoya tried to tell himself to get up and do something, the more he just wanted to crawl back under the covers and take a nap.

A part of him knew it was stupid to feel this way. Kyoya usually relished in the weekends without the Host Club. As entertaining as their outings were, he more often than not found himself on the cusp of falling behind in his studies or the club's finances or his own mental sanity when he didn't have a few long hours to himself.

But this time it felt different. Because even if Kyoya wanted to leave, he knew he couldn't.

And he felt like a prisoner.

Today, yesterday, Friday night… every damn time Kyoya so much as left his bedroom he had the eerie feeling of being watched. Ever since Trasic-san let slip that she had freaking _cameras_ in the house, Kyoya found himself looking over his shoulder and staring into the dark cracks and crevases of his house, half expecting to spot a red light or a lense reflection winking back at him. His bodyguards, Tachibana, Aijima, and Hotta, were also starting to make more appearances. While Kyoya already knew they were keeping an eye on him, like they always did, it was starting to grind on Kyoya's nerves how _obvious_ they were being. "Casually" chatting by the front door, side-eyeing Kyoya whenever he came downstairs or moved from one room to another, like they expected him to make a break for it or something! He wasn't an infant! Nor was he stupid!

And yet…

Kyoya's fingers twitched against his thighs and he groaned, raking them through his hair before curling them into fists and giving a brief tug. This was it. This was how he was going to go insane. No bizarre Host Club antics or Dumb-Tamaki-Suoh idea necessary. He was just going to be held under lock and key with paranoia breathing down his neck until he was driven off the deep end!

Another groan escaped, this time in discomfort as Kyoya noticed the growing pain in his lower back. Sighing, he let go of his hair and shifted until he could lay down on his bed. Trying to find a comfortable way to place his arms or at the very least stop his incessantly bouncing foot, Kyoya stared directly up at the ceiling.

After all the years of telling Fuyumi he'd rather stay in, of grabbing a seat at the corner of the library instead of following his class into crisp autumn air, of insisting that they should host indoors instead of in one of the gardens… Kyoya took it all back. He regretted every single time he turned down the opportunity to leave the four walls of his house. For all the comfort it used to provide him, now it just felt like a big concrete cage.

And Kyoya wanted _out._

 _BAM!_

An embarrassingly loud yelp fell out of Kyoya's mouth before he could stop it. His door had just gone flying open.

"Well, aren't you happy to see us!"

Taking in a few deep breaths, Kyoya slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows. Leaning against the sides of his doorway, Hikaru and Kaoru grinned up at him.

A much better scenario than the raging gunman that had popped up in Kyoya's imagination.

"What are you two doing here?"

Taking his words as permission, the twins shut his door and scampered up the steps leading to Kyoya's loft. He quickly sat up, pulling his legs back under him just before Hikaru took a flying leap onto Kyoya's bed, his brother right behind him.

"So… how've you been?"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "Take a guess."

Kaoru nodded solemnly while Hikaru leaned back on his hands. "Oh yeah, meant to ask, how's the food here in prison? I've heard some wicked rumors."

"It's not terrible. Though I could do with less security looking over my shoulder all the time. Kills my appetite."

"Hmm… we figured you say that." Hikaru leaned forward, dropping the teasing tone in an instant. "In all honesty, I was surprised that we were let it without much of a fuss. No background checks or being turned away or anything like that."

At the implied question, Kyoya scowled at his lap and grumbled, "There's a small list of people outside immediate family and employees who are allowed to enter the premises, and it includes everyone from the club."

He might never admit it out loud… but Kyoya was grateful. Maybe it was Trasic-san's way of keeping him happy enough to not start a riot. Or it simply moved the rest of the club out of the way, too. Regardless, Kyoya was glad that he was allowed visitors. More importantly, visitors he actually wanted to see. It dulled the prison vibe. Almost like saying, _Hey, look, your friend's craziness isn't_ too _far out of reach._

Didn't dull it completely though.

"Y'know… I think this is the first time I've ever seen you unhappy. Pissed off I've seen plenty of, but you actually look _bored_ , Kyoya-senpai."

"Which will probably make the next step in our plan a little easier." Kyoya looked up sharply, attention piqued. ' _Plan'?_

Continuing with their little twin telepathy, Kaoru spoke up next. "Not that we don't like seeing your handsome face every day, Kyoya-senpai-"

"-but would you be interested in a little teenage rebellion?"

"Teenage what? What are you..." The question dies on Kyoya's tongue. _Oh._

Immediately Kyoya is at war with himself. A part of him, the more instinctive side, is practically cheering at the mere _idea_ of escaping his house. He wanted fresh air, _damn it!_ The louder, more controlling side, however, grabbed his instinct by the back of the shirt and declared they would in no way, shape, or form, be leaving the safety of his room until they were told it wouldn't cost Kyoya his life.

Picking up on Kyoya's hesitance, Hikaru leaned forward. "Listen, Kyoya. We thought it through, and this whole lockdown thing is really unfair and unnecessary- no, wait, here me out! We've got three reasons for you to go along with us, and if you don't agree by the end of it, we'll call in the rest of the club and just hang out here."

Kyoya looked back and forth between the twins. He wouldn't necessarily mind having the Host Club over. Tamaki had hung out with him yesterday, and the extra voice filling up the big room helped Kyoya forget for longer periods of time that he couldn't leave the house. But…

His fingers twitched again, which he covered up by shifting into a more comfortable sitting position. "I'll listen."

Hikaru nodded and raised his pointer finger. "Okay, first off, putting you on lockdown is pretty much putting the rest of us on lockdown as well. It's just like how Trasic-san forced her company on us at the club the other day by saying she was protecting you. She's got no power over us, so it's completely unfair to set up punishments that affect everyone."

Kaoru leaned in, flashing a peace sign. "Second, we're including you in the words 'us' and 'everyone'. Trasic-san can't control you, has no right to keep you locked up, and it's high time we made that clear. Sneaking out is a really in-your-face way of sticking it to her."

"And third." Hikaru flashed a taunting smile and three fingers. "If Trasic-san is really as good of an agent as she acts, then why are you on lockdown at all? She's protected you just fine out in the open beforehand, so why is she being so harsh all of the sudden? If you think about it, it's like you're being punished because people want to kill you!"

Kyoya stared at the bedspread between him and the twins. He had to admit… he agreed. He and Tamaki had spoken on the very same topic for at least an hour yesterday, deciding that Kyoya's punishment outweighed his crime. And there was still his growing desire to get out of the house. Even if he didn't go along with the twins… Kyoya's huge windows were starting to irritate him. Teasing him without mercy. He might go crazy if he didn't get out now.

Letting out a deep sigh, Kyoya shook his head. "I appreciate that you think this is unfair. I do, too. But it's not like we can do anything about it. There's no way to get me out. There are guards by the front door and-"

"Oh, Kyoya-senpai… our sweet summer child…"

"...I was born in November?"

"You really think we didn't plan this whole thing out before we came here?"

"The rest of the club is waiting in our limo."

"We can get you out."

"If you want."

Kyoya hesitates once more. It's tempting. Hell, it's way past tempting at this point. Freedom, the outside, the rest of the Host Club… the word 'yes' is practically on the tip of his tongue. And yet he bites it back. No matter what the twins said, he was still in danger. And if Trasic-san wasn't there-

"If she's got cameras all over the house, she'll see you sneaking out. She'll find us eventually, but she'll also alert your guards and have them follow us. And you're technically still the boss of them, so you can force them to let you stay out regardless."

"And you'll still get to go outside. For a little bit at least."

"Trasic-san was probably already planning on extending your lockdown time until she leaves, so it's not like she can do much more damage regarding your punishment."

"And we can sneak ourselves in if she tries to ban us from seeing you, too."

Kyoya sighs, but can't help the small smile appearing on his face. They really thought this through, didn't they? Looking off to the side, he spots the book he had been trying and failing to read.

* * *

Livia stares at the computer screen in front of her, chin propped up on her left hand. Her right was resting on the tabletop next to the mouse, fingertips tapping rhythmically against the polished wood.

Her lips were pursed ever so slightly as she leaned in. There was no way… no possible way that Kyoya was _that_ stupid. Right? No, there was no…

" _Okay. But don't tell me how we're getting out or where we're going."_

Fucking hell.

" _Trasic-san's probably got microphones to go with her cameras."_

Eyes falling closed, she let out a long, drawn-out sigh through her nose. When she opened them again, the window in the middle of her screen showed the three boys closing Kyoya's bedroom door behind them. The computer program, detecting body-heat and new movement on another camera, rotated the recordings on screen until Livia could see the boys again, now running down the hallway.

Taking in another deep breath, Livia slowly pushed her chair back and stood up. Stretching her arms up over her head, she peered down her nose at the computer. While the three boys jumped from camera to camera, Livia popped a few joints in her neck and back. Once she realized exactly how the trio was going to sneak out of the Ootori mansion, Livia leaned over the back of her chair and shut her laptop.

She closed her eyes afterwards, taking another deep breath. In… and out. An almost serene expression slid over her face as she opened her eyes. The barest hint of a smile pulled at her lips.

Calmly, she started getting ready to leave the apartment, picking up the things she'd need one by one. Her recorder was hooked onto her ponytail holder. The gun was slipped into the small black purse being kept next to the front door. Livia took her time sliding her shoes on, keys jingled merrily against her fingers. Slipping her purse over her shoulder and opening up the front door, she casually tossed the keys up and down in a solo game of catch.

She dropped them.

Stared for a moment.

Let out a sigh.

Bent over and plucked them off the hot cement.

Frowning, Livia straightened up and looked over the edge of the balcony railing. It was really hot today… maybe she should change into a t-shirt that wasn't black? Or put on some sunscreen?

"Hm… nah."

Closing the door behind her, Livia hummed a familiar tune while locking up. After she jiggled the door handle, double checking that it was truly locked, she gave a little nod and began walking towards the staircase at the end of the balcony. As she went, Livia swapped her keys for the phone in her left pocket, clicking open one of the apps on her home screen.

* * *

"Woah!"

Hikaru and Kaoru stared in awe at the covered market. The large roof over the currently fenced off street shielded the Host Club from the bright sun overhead as they took in the mess of colors and yummy smells. Hundreds of shoppers roamed around them, as far as the eye could see. Some had shopping bags in hand, others were still browsing the hangers and displays littering the sidewalk. Even more were munching or waiting for the various street foods being offered every dozen meters or so, the lines particularly long at the ice cream venues.

Bright grins on their faces, the twins turned around and gestured broadly. "Haruhi, since this is more your world that ours-"

"-you get to lead the way!"

Their matching smiles only lasted another two seconds before they dropped, unable to dismiss just how frightened everyone looked. All of them kept looking over their shoulders or were watching the other shoppers out of the corner of their eyes. Save for Kyoya, but he was the one the other four were huddled around.

Hikaru reacted first, leveling one of his usual dry looks. Raised eyebrow and everything. "Geez, you guys need to lighten up. Don't look so nervous, there's no way Trasic-san knows where we are just yet."

"And that's exactly why we're nervous in the first place."

Honey nodded along. "Haru-chan's right… Liv-chan said Kyo-chan's not allowed out without her because it's not safe."

"And considering we also gave Kyoya's bodyguards the slip when you snuck him out…" Tamaki gulped, pressing a little closer to Kyoya's back. "He's the least protected he's ever been in his life. And at the worst possible time. Oh, _why_ did I listen to you two?"

"This was a bad idea."

Kyoya didn't say anything while his friends continued to bring up how dangerous this whole venture was. He tried to ignore the way his stomach was twisting into uncomfortable knots or how fast his heart was beating. The first five minutes of adrenaline from his escape had been wonderful, especially with the window rolled down so the wind would hit Kyoya in the face. But now that the excitement had weaned off, reality was starting to settle in. But he wouldn't back down.

Unfortunately, even the twins were starting to fidget.

Kaoru's hands were now stuffed into his short's pockets, eyes roaming around the busy street around them as he swayed from side to side. "Um… how about we find a place to eat? Some food might be good. Um… I think there's a ramen place just a little further down. Or maybe we could even find a curry restaurant somewhere?"

"I don't believe it… you, too?" Hikaru saw right through his brother's nonchalance. He crossed his arms a little tighter, looking like a toddler about to have a tantrum. The others were mildly surprised he didn't actually stomp his foot. "This is exactly what I was worried about! Trasic-san has completely destroyed any sense of peace we had in public, and all because she didn't come clean in the first place! If we'd known about her job, we wouldn't be looking over our shoulders for more people who aren't who they say they are!"

"Hika-chan, that's a lie and you know it!"

"Yeah, if we'd known from the beginning do you really think we would've felt any safer? The reason Livia-senpai didn't tell us was so we wouldn't be freaking out! To keep that feeling of peace!"

Judging by the growing tension in everyone, it looked like a full-blown argument was underway. And Kyoya just didn't have the patience to deal with that right now. Abruptly pushing the others away and taking a step back, Kyoya sharply cut off Hikaru's next words.

"Shut up!"

The others turned to look at him, eyes going a little wide.

"Look, it was my decision to follow along with the plan, but if all you're going to do is squabble and act like Mother Hens then I'm going to request an end to it right now. It's not your job to worry about my safety, and I don't want you..."

Kyoya had a split-second revelation that the rest of the club wasn't actually staring at him, but behind him, before something grabbed the back of his shirt in a fist and tugged. _Hard._

Briefly choked by his own shirt collar, Kyoya was forced to stumble backwards a few steps, nearly falling down completely in the process. He hardly registered the strange noise that came out of his mouth or the huge fly suddenly passing in front of his face, too preoccupied with the fact that he _couldn't breathe!_

A second later and he took in a deep breath, both hands coming up to pull his collar away from his neck. At the same time, the window of the little trinket shop to his right abruptly shattered, sparking screams from the Host Club and everyone in the general vicinity.

" _Get down!_ "

Without even a moment to look around, Kyoya was unceremoniously grabbed by his shirt again and hauled backwards. He tripped over his own two feet, nearly smacking his face against the jutting expanse of cement wall he was being pulled behind. All around him the general noise level of the shopping center had risen to a crescendo, the rising screams occasionally being joined by loud cracking sounds. Another window shattered, spraying more glass shards onto the street.

Kyoya found himself thrown against the long side of cement wall, the corner of his glasses scraping against it and nearly getting knocked off his face entirely. He was breathing deeply, the situation slowly starting to make sense in his brain. Two more cracks pierced the air, little black objects ricocheting off the edge of the cement wall he was now hiding behind.

The hands returned, now with a grip on the back of his shirt and under his right arm. Kyoya let himself be pulled along the span of the wall and into shop it was next to. It was a clothing store, mostly of the tie-dye variety. He was right next door to the trading store the Host Club had stopped in front of to talk.

 _The Host Club… where did they go?_

Kyoya finally found his voice when he was unceremoniously dumped on the floor of the store between two racks of colorful dresses, letting out a pained grunt.

He was almost afraid to look up.

Livia was partially crouched next to the end of one of the clothing racks, her handgun out as she stared at the doorway. She appeared to be muttering to herself under her breath as she checked her clip.

" _Where… where is-_ "

Livia turned and looked Kyoya dead in the eye, pinning him in place and shutting him up.

"Don't. _Move._ "

She was running back out of the store the following second, leaving Kyoya alone with a lady behind the counter who was screaming frantically into her cell phone. Was she calling the police? Just outside Kyoya could still hear screaming and the sound of people running as fast as they could. Children were crying. People were calling out names and nicknames in hysterical panic.

 _Where's the Host Club?_

Kyoya tried to stand up. He couldn't. He couldn't feel anything below his knees at the moment. Were his hands shaking? Shoving the fear into the furthest corner of his mind it would go, Kyoya managed to crawl his way to the other side of the clothing rack. He took a deep breath... and peered around corner-

The window exploded in a mess of glass.

Kyoya jerked back immediately, just barely missed by the spray of glass shards shooting across the floor where his hands had been two seconds ago. Tears leaking down his face, Kyoya fell backwards. He was definitely shaking, and his breaths were now coming in sharp bursts. The lady behind the counter let out another scream as well, crying into her phone or into thin air, he couldn't tell anymore.

" _T… T-Tamaki..? Haruhi? Mo-_ "

Another volley of gunshots came from outside, and that was it. A strangled sob escaped as Kyoya fell to his side. He kept shaking, no matter how tightly he curled in on himself. Clenching his hands to try to steady himself, Kyoya pressed his fists against his face.

The Host Club's faces flashed behind his eyelids, twisted into expressions of terror. What had happened? Did Livia go back out for them? Why didn't they follow him into the store? Did they get hit? Were they _dead?_ Oh god, what had he been _thinking?_ What if the last thing Kyoya ever did to them was yell?

Had he ever told them, any of them, ever, that he thought of them as more than just club mates?

Had he ever told them they were his friends?

He let out a broken cry, chest shaking in little jerks as the tears burst forth.

 _Oh god, they could be dead! Tamaki and Haruhi and the twins and- oh god what if it was just one of the twins? Or Honey? Or Mori? Oh god oh god oh_ god please no no no _no no NO NO NO NO NO_

Kyoya's hands flew to his ears, unable to take all the screaming any more, but it did nothing. No matter how tightly he pressed against the sides of his head the panic and terror taking place just outside found a way inside his head.

Everything was spinning and he was so scared and he couldn't breathe and the others were still out there and he couldn't breathe and the bullets had been so close to hitting him and he couldn't breathe what if they hit someone he cared about and they could've hit a complete stranger or a child and he couldn't breathe couldn't breath couldn't _breathe couldn't breathe couldn't BREATHE COULDN'T BREATHE COULDN'T-_

" _Kyoya!_ "

Gasping, Kyoya jolted into an upright position just in time for Tamaki to fall on top of him, wrapping his arms around his chest and sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. Before Kyoya could even react the rest of the club came rushing around the corner of the clothing rack. Their faces were stricken and unnaturally pale, some of them tear soaked, and all five of them practically dog-piled the two boys on the floor in a frantic scurry.

Honey-senpai buried his face into Kyoya's right shoulder and broke down while the twins wrapped themselves around Kyoya's left side. Haruhi latched herself to Tamaki's back, letting her head fall forward over Tamaki's left shoulder to rest against Kyoya's chest. And Mori jumped over them all before sitting down and drawing the whole group into his lap, Kyoya first and foremost.

The sudden flood of _joy_ and _relief_ coursing through Kyoya's body wrenched another cry from the boy before he buried his face in between Tamaki and Haruhi's hair, his hands clutching on whatever clothes he found first. The tears wouldn't stop. He didn't even care about how it was possible or what had happened when he didn't know. All that matter was they were _alive._

 _Alive._

 _Alive._

 _They're_ alive.

Kyoya had no idea how long they sat there. It very possibly could've been a few hours, just the seven of them trying to stop crying and listening to each other breathe as their hearts pounded. Even when limbs fell asleep and hair began to stick to cheeks and most of them desperately needed a tissue they remained as tangled together as possible.

Haruhi was the first one to move, shifting her head to look over her shoulder.

" _...Livia-senpai?_ "

Ever so slowly, the rest of the club raised their heads, not one of them daring to look Livia in the face, let alone the eye. Instead, they noticed how her gun was once again nowhere to be seen. Her left hand was clenched by her side. Her right was palm up in front of her, curved to hold… something.

With deliberate steps, Livia moved until she was right in front of the group before kneeling down. Everyone's eyes dropped to the floor, Tamaki turning away completely and burying his face into Kyoya's shirt once again.

But they could see what Livia was holding now.

It was a flattened bullet.

Like she had all the time in the world, Livia let the dented metal roll up her palm until she could pinch it between her thumb, pointer, and middle finger. She didn't say anything for a moment, just twisted and spun it around so the others could get a good look at it. Even Tamaki managed a quick peek, fingers digging painfully against Kyoya's side and stomach.

Livia's thoughtful hum made everyone jump. Kyoya suddenly realized that the screaming from outside had faded away quite a bit. The lady who'd been behind the counter must've escaped through the back door.

"9 mm… probably loaded with gloves so there'd be no fingerprints. Skilled marksmanship… didn't hit anyone but got pretty damn close to his target. Only five shots from a curtained window before making a break for it. Smart, considering all the bodyguards who began zeroing in as soon as they fired the first bullet." She held the dented metal up a bit until the hosts were indirectly looking her in the eye. "This particular bullet, actually. And at the angle it was fired..."

She moved the bullet to her left hand, arranging it a bit until it was sitting on top of three fingers, almost like it was on display. Then, with her right hand, she reached forward and pressed her pointer finger against Kyoya's left temple, right in front of the top shell of his ear. He flinched at her touch, but didn't move away.

"Entry point would've been here. Exit point…" She moved her hand in a diagonal path across the front of Kyoya's face before stopping at the other side. "... here, shattering your cheekbone. But you would've been dead way before that happened."

Kyoya didn't realize he had resumed shaking until someone grabbed his hand. He felt lightheaded.

Livia's hand abruptly dropped from his face, green eyes digging into him much like her fingers had done earlier. She looked beyond angry, to the point where Kyoya couldn't even think of a proper word to describe her expression. If all evidence didn't point to the contrary, Kyoya would almost think that Livia was about to murder him.

"The next time you decide to try something like this?" Her voice is impossibly quiet as she shakes her head. "I'm just gonna sit back and watch."

Kyoya tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry.

After another moment of silence, Livia stood up. "We need to get you out of here. Your guards can deal with the police and the crime scene. They know I'm sending the bullet to my agency."

"But-"

Whatever Haruhi was about to say was immediately cut off by another glare, making the whole group flinch.

Livia growled out, "Don't bother worrying about another shooter. Right now, that's the _least_ of your concerns."

Considering the way Livia was looking at them, Kyoya could believe it.

* * *

Livia was stone still in her seat. Her back was facing towards the front of the limo, her and the driver separated by a black divider. If Livia hadn't been the one to roll it up in the first place, the driver probably would've done it himself. The tension in the back seat was unbelievable.

Livia's arms and legs were both crossed, her left fingers tapping out a slow rhythm against her opposing bicep. Her handgun had been removed from her purse and placed on the empty seat to her right. It was unclear whether it was a fear tactic, a form of comfort, or Livia having an opinion on the fact all seven member of the Host Club were piled together on the three furthest seats from her. But the heavy glare she was sending their way kept anyone from asking. Or making a single sound for that matter.

Kaoru was seated on the far left of the bench, holding Kyoya's sleeve in one hand and Hikaru's hand in the other. Hikaru was also laying his head on Kaoru's knee from his place on the floor, but Kaoru's eyes were glued to the window. What else was there to do? Looking at anyone in the limo only brought a wave of agonizing guilt.

How could he have been so stupid? He wouldn't be surprised if Livia had told their driver to take them all to prison for attempted manslaughter. She hadn't said where they were going, so it was a possible option. And it was close to the truth. Too close-

"Hey… I know where we are." Kaoru's voice was just loud enough to be heard over the car engine, and everyone turned to look at him. "This is the way to our house, Hikaru. Why are we-"

His question died on his tongue at the look on Livia's face.

Despite how the cabin lapsed back into silence once more, the unease had lessened. Everyone felt a little more relaxed now that they knew where they were headed. Someplace safe and somewhat familiar.

Kyoya sank a little in his seat, giving Tamaki's hand a short squeeze. He hadn't let go of Kyoya since they unwound themselves from the floor hug at the little shop. Tamaki's other arm was currently wrapped around Haruhi's waist as she sat on his lap. As odd as it was to do so at this point, Kyoya couldn't help but worry for him. Tamaki hadn't spoken a word since they got into the car. He wasn't even making facial expressions other than ones of fear.

The silence held until they arrived at the Hitachiin's home. Livia scooped up her gun with one hand while opening her door with the other. The Host Club watched as she climbed out of the car, took a look around, then stepped back.

"Everyone out. The twins can lead you inside."

Obediently, they followed her orders, waiting until all seven of them were standing in the open before trooping forwards. Not a one of them dared to move out of close range with each other. Kyoya once again found himself in the center of their little bubble. Tamaki still hadn't let go of his hand.

They made it indoors without a word, the twins leading everyone through the entrance hall and into the sitting room.

"Oh, thank goodness!"

Tears sprung back into Kaoru's eyes when he saw his parents waiting for them. His mother instantly jumped up from the couch and ran to her sons, pulling them into a tight hug. Without hesitation they hugged back. Kaoru pressed his eyes against her soft dress sleeves, attempting to hold back from crying for the second time that day.

Gentle hands stroked at their hair while Yuzuha whispered endearments and thanks to Livia for bringing her boys home safely. The rest of the club wondered if they'd receive similar reactions from their family's when they got home. Probably not. Some of their family members didn't even know that Kyoya was in danger, let alone-

Wait…

Hikaru noticed first, pulling a little out of his mother's hug. "Mother? You know Trasic-senpai?"

Yuzuha opened her mouth, but was interrupted.

"Hikaru? Kaoru?"

Everyone noticed how the twins stiffened at the voice, slowly pulling away from their mother to look back at the couch. A man with dark brown hair was sitting there, staring at his hands that were clasped in his lap. His voice had been soft, and he looked… frail.

The twins exchanged a concerned look before turning back to the man. "Father?"

"What's wrong?"

The room went quiet as the twin's father took in a breath. Slowly, he stood up from the couch, hands falling to his side as he turned towards the group. His wife slid to the side, a hand pressed against her mouth as she waited for him to speak.

The twin's father let out another sigh before lifting his gaze from the floor. Kaoru's breath caught in his throat. Were those… were those _tears_ in his father's eyes?

"Please tell me you did not convince Ootori-san to leave the safety of his house without Trasic-san."

The twins looked like they'd swallowed their tongues. Their father sounded _heartbroken._ The rest of the club was no less shocked.

In the end, Haruhi was the first to speak up. "Hitachiin-san… you know about Livia-senpai being..?"

"Yes." The man stared at his sons for a few seconds longer before he turned to Livia, who was standing off to the side. "Kiku has told me all about you. I apologize for what's happened on behalf of my son's arrogance."

Livia bowed in response. "It's not your fault, Hitachiin-sama, but thank you."

"I must say, despite the circumstances, it is nice to finally see what my teachings have inspired."

"Your _what?_ " Hikaru's head snapped back and forth between his father and Livia, eyes wide and uncomprehending. "Father, what is going on?"

"How do you know Trasic-san?"

Livia's eyes finally fell. This was not how she wanted the twins to find out…

"It's always easy to recognize a fellow agent, son."

* * *

 _ **Recording Redirection**_

 _ **R.A.R.E. Agent Personal Profile**_

 _ **Ishibashi (Hitachiin) Oki**_

 _ **Status: Retired**_

 **Date of Recruitment:** (Date withheld)

 **Details (Optional):** Ishibashi Oki was recruited at the age of ten. Agent Kan Kyung-Min was in the process of protecting the Ishibashi family's recently developed product from theft when Oki arrived on the scene. Agent Kyung-Min, upon subduing the thieves and emptying their bags, was shocked to discover the product was not there. Spotting Oki running down a nearby hallway, gave chase. Oki's personal guards were alerted, but the situation was explained before any further confrontations occured. Agent Kyung-Min discovered that Oki had stolen the product out of the thieves bag during the fight. Agent Kyung-Min submitted a training referral for Ishibashi Oki the following week.

 **Roommate:** Shpak Fyodora Alekseevna

 **Mentor:** Lawrence Schlegel

 **Prime:** Japan

 **Date of promotion to Solo Agent:** (Date withheld)

 **Details (Optional):** Ishibashi Oki has shown exceptional skills in infiltration and gathering critical information. Specializes in group missions and spy work. Has successfully maintained his cover for a full eight months, leading to the raid and destruction of the (name withheld) sex trafficking ring. Promotion is approved in 6-2-1 vote.

 **Trainee:** Kiku Kobayashi

 **Date of Retirement:** (Date withheld)

 **Details (Optional):** 42 successful missions. 1 failed. Relocating to permanent residence in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan.

 **Additional comments:** Named new CEO of father's electronic company (name withheld) as of (date withheld). Married to Yuzuha Hitachiin as of (date withheld). Has taken wife's surname.

* * *

Oki wasn't sure if he wanted someone else to break the silence or not. Once he had started explaining how he became a R.A.R.E. agent, everyone had migrated to the many couches and chairs to listen. Hikaru and Kaoru had taken seats directly in front of him, but hadn't done anything besides stare at their father. The silence was daunting and made Oki more than a little curious about what was going through their heads, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to hear it either.

Deciding to move on with the story, he rubbed his hands together. "As a former agent, I know the weight on Trasic-san's shoulders. She has a large task at hand, one more important than anything you boys have ever thought of or experienced before. And for you to casually dismiss the very reason she is here is not only horrifying and heartbreaking, but outrageously stupid of you. To be in charge of another human's life is not something to consider lightly, because the pain when you fail… It's immeasurable."

He took in a shaky breath. The memories weren't fresh any longer… the finer details lost in time, but the ache in his chest was always present.

"I failed once."

Yuzuha shifted at her husband's side, cautiously placing a hand on his knee to steady him. A method of soothing the pain they had discovered and developed together.

"I was almost twenty. The job wasn't particularly difficult or different from the others. For the first three months nothing went wrong. I had infiltrated another sex trafficking ring, and it all lead up to the day of a sale. As per usual, it was my job to sneak the girl out of her bonds and get her out of the building while the other agents did all the fighting and arresting. But I was too slow. I was sloppy. Someone spotted me sneaking around the edge in the shadows and tackled me to the ground. It took a full minute for me to fight them off... just one minute. Not even a full minute either. But when I finally reached the girl… Her buyer had gotten to her first. I'd spoken to him before. Had to, in order to gain his trust. I knew he had a "if I can't have her then no one can" mentality but I didn't-"

Oki took another shaky breath, blinking rapidly.

"She was thirteen."

A sniffle caught his attention, and Oki looked back up to see his sons and their friends in tears. He was surprised for a moment, then caught himself. Considering the day they'd had, their emotions must be running rampant. Especially for Ootori-san. He was still holding Suoh-san's hand. And Haninozuka-san was curled up into his other side, along with Morinozuka-san.

"I would've told you my past once you graduated high school, when you were emotionally ready for something like this. Most parents only tell their children about R.A.R.E. when it's necessary, but I knew that you boys and your sister are special circumstances. But now you've forced my hand. To take Ootori-san out in the open with no protection… I thought you cared for your friends more than your pride, considering how highly you speak of them." Oki shook his head, looking at the floor once again. "If you are upset with Trasic-san, gambling with Ootori-san's life is not the way to show it. You could've lost a very dear friend of yours today because of your own arrogance."

Damn, his eyes were getting watery, but he couldn't help it. There was no way to truly put into words the overwhelming emotion he was feeling. His boys were crying in front of him, too, which didn't help.

"Never… _ever_ , put Trasic-san in that position again. Or yourselves for that matter. If you truly care for Ootori-san, then you should be doing everything possible to keep him alive."

The following silence settles heavily on the room for approximately ten seconds before there's soft shuffling from the edge.

"Okay, I think that's enough emotional baggage for now. Hitachiin-sama, is it alright to use your son's limo to take everyone home?"

Oki nods mutely while Yuzuha stands up, giving Livia her thanks once more before escorting her husband out of the room. Every else is slow to follow Livia back towards the entrance, side-eyeing the twins as they remain seated. Kaoru is staring at the door their parents left through, Hikaru keeping his eyes on the floor.

Getting the club out of the house took longer than it did bringing them in. Livia was taking everyone out to the limo in pairs, not mocking or otherwise acknowledging how nervous and tense they were out in the open.

Kyoya couldn't tell if Livia meant to leave him for last or if it was just a fluke. Maybe, just like Kyoya, she had expected Tamaki to stay by his side until the bitter end. When Kyoya felt his hand being was slowly released so Tamaki could walk out with Haruhi, Kyoya nearly grabbed it again. But he had noticed the occasional shiver in Haruhi's shoulders during the past hour, so maybe Tamaki had decided it was time to give his girlfriend some serious attention.

Still, his right side felt unusually cold.

"Kyoya-senpai?"

Kyoya almost didn't recognize Kaoru's voice calling from the doorway. His usual cheerful tone was thick, and when he opened his mouth again all that came out was a choked sound. Kyoya couldn't tell if it was because he had been crying so much today or if he needed to cry some more.

"We... we're _sorry_. Kyoya, we're so sorry." Hikaru's lower lip was trembling, even as his upper teeth suddenly bit into it. His eyes were growing misty, too.

So, Kyoya did the only thing he could think of.

He walked up to the twins and pulled them both into a hug without a word.

They responded immediately, crying against his shoulders like everyone else had already done that day. In the back of his mind Kyoya knew he'd need to send his wind jacket to the dry cleaners to remove all the wrinkles and water damage, but he didn't much care about that at the moment. He squeezed tighter, trying to remember what a hug from Fuyumi felt like. He wasn't going to use Tamaki's hugs as an example, that was for sure, but Kyoya didn't have many memories of hugs before. Only that they were supposed to be warm and nice and comforting. He hoped that's what the twins were feeling right now.

It's how he felt, at least.

Knowing Livia was going to return at any moment, Kyoya let the hug continue for another few seconds before pulling back a bit. "Are you going to be okay?"

Kaoru let out a small laugh, rubbing at his eyes. "A-aren't we supposed to be asking you that question?"

"Heh. I suppose it does sound a bit odd the other way around. But this has been the second person to... reveal themselves to you. Your father, of all people."

"I still love my father." Kaoru didn't appear to be looking at anything in particular. His grip on Kyoya's arm was tight as he nodded to himself. "With all my heart. He's the only one in our family who can always tell Hikaru and I apart. No matter what."

"He's never held us to an unreasonable standard."

"Or pushed us too far out of our comfort zone."

"Or been anything but a loving and doting father."

Both Hikaru and Kaoru were nodding at this point, the misty look in their eyes all but gone. Hikaru looked at his brother before meeting Kyoya's eyes head on. "Being an ex-agent of R.A.R.E. doesn't change any of that. And it never will."

"Yeah..." Kaoru sighs, bringing both of his hands up to rub at his face. "I'm starting to see now why we weren't told before just now, too. We really were morons..."

"And terrible... friends." Hikaru lifted his chin, like he was daring someone nearby to challenge him. "We were terrible _friends_ to you, Kyoya-senpai."

"... Maybe a little."

The three exchange short, breathy giggles. It really wasn't all that funny, but they didn't care, either. It was something different. And it was a good different.

Kyoya lowered his arms, feeling warm again. Still, there was one last thing he needed to ask. "...Does this mean you're going to apologize to Trasic-san as well?"

The twins gave each other a look, smiles falling flat as they spoke silently.

"I-"

"Take your time, boys." The three jumped a bit as Livia walked through the front doors. "Don't force yourselves, you might sprain something. We need to leave now, Kyoya. There's still school tomorrow morning."

* * *

Hey. I'm back in my own apartment now. The Host Club members were all returned to their place of residence, and Kyoya is not allowed to leave his bedroom unless it's for meals until Monday.

The new tracking app worked like a charm, but we should have someone looking in on ways to heighten the accuracy levels. From the looks of it, Kyoya's phone was bounced between a number of cell towers when they went through a really busy area. He wasn't impossible to track, but if they went through a place without any cell towers I might've been in real trouble.

And for anyone curious as to why I walked off before the twins could apologize, I don't want a half-ass apology if I do get one. I'd rather let the boys simmer for a bit and think everything through. If they really mean it… then they can apologize.

I'm also going to be revisiting Kyoya's house-arrest rules.

End log.

* * *

 **Okay, much darker than some of the other chapters in the story, I know. I honestly didn't mean to give Kyoya a panic attack, it just happened. But it gave me a good opportunity to bring up the friends-not-friends ordeal and show just how deeply Tamaki and the others care about Kyoya.**

 **I haven't checked, but the next couple chapters should be on the more laid back side of things again, just getting back into "normal" life for them all.**

 **I hope you liked it! If anything triggered you that I didn't tag, please let me know and I'll tag it right away!**

 **See you next chapter!**


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